Extreme E is an FIA-sanctioned international off-road racing series that uses spec silhouette electric SUVs to race in remote parts of the world, such as the Saudi Arabian desert or the Arctic. All racing locations are chosen to raise awareness for some aspects of climate change and Extreme E maintains a "Legacy Programme" which intends to provide social and environmental support for those locations. The series also promotes gender equality in motorsport by mandating that all teams consist of a female and a male driver who share equal driving duties.
The first season began with the Desert X-Prix in Saudi Arabia in April 2021. Team X44 is the defending champion.
History
Preparations
Extreme E began in 2018 as a project led by Formula E founder Alejandro Agag and former driver Gil de Ferran. The series was presented to the public in January 2019 with an event in London. The announcement took place on board the ship St Helena which was to serve as "floating paddock" of the series, and also introduced Continental as tyre supplier and Brazilian company CBMM as niobium supplier for the vehicle production. Ali Russell was named Chief Marketing Officer, while Red Bull sports executives Kester Wilkinson and Nina Dreier signed on as event and marketing managers.
The first team to commit to the series, Venturi Racing, was announced in May 2019 (although they withdrew again before the first season). A couple of months later, German team Abt Sportsline was the second team to join the series.
In July 2019 a first prototype of the series vehicle, the Odyssey 21, was showcased at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and in December 2019 the provisional calendar for the first season in 2021 was revealed, featuring races in Senegal, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Greenland and Brazil.
In 2020, the series started to attract attention by having Ken Block race the Extreme E car at the last stage of the Dakar Rally in January and in September Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton announced the creation of his own Extreme E team, called X44. Former F1 champion and Hamilton's longtime team-mate and rival, Nico Rosberg also entered his own team into the competition with Rosberg X Racing, as did fellow champion Jenson Button with JBXE; Button also drove the 2021 Desert X-Prix for his team. A six-day drivers' test was held near the Châteaux de Lastours in southern France in late September and early October, featuring among confirmed series drivers some well-known racing drivers like Valtteri Bottas, Sébastien Loeb and Jean-Éric Vergne.
In November 2020, the vehicles were delivered to the teams, who could then apply their liveries and acquaint themselves with the car and its operations. The teams were limited to 100km of private testing. A joint test with eight teams and a race simulation was held at MotorLand Aragón in December.
The St Helena departed from Liverpool on 20 February 2021, carrying equipment and 9 cars for the first race in April and arrived in Jeddah on 14 March.
2021 season
The first season began with the Desert X-Prix in Saudi Arabia in April 2021 and ended in December in the United Kingdom. Nine teams were competing over five rounds. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic the calendar had to be modified during the season with two European rounds replacing the two planned events in South America. Rosberg X Racing with drivers Molly Taylor and Johan Kristoffersson emerged as the first Extreme E champions.
2022 season
The second season started in February 2022, again in Saudi Arabia. McLaren joined the series as a new team. The season ended in November 2022 in Uruguay.
Prior to the 2022 season's opening race, Agag announced the creation of a similar off-road electric championship called Extreme H, which uses the usual Spark Odyssey 21 chassis, but the car will be powered by hydrogen. Development of the first Extreme H prototype car is underway, scheduled for a 2023 launch. The first season is expected to take place in 2024, alongside Extreme E's fourth season. In August 2023, the FIA and Extreme E have signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding to set out a framework for Extreme H. The inaugural season will be in 2025 and the series will be recognized as an FIA World Championship in 2026 if the requisite criteria are met.
The second season was won by Team X44 with drivers Cristina Gutiérrez and Sébastien Loeb.
2023 season
The third season started once again in Saudi Arabia, in March 2023.