Electric motorsport is growing at an impressive rate, and in 2021 a new addition hits the (off)road – Extreme E. It has announced the addition of another major racing team to the electric off-road series. McLaren Racing will join Extreme E’s second season in 2022.
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While we don’t have an idea of who the drivers will be, some major talent took part in the first season of Extreme E. McLaren has announced that it wouldn’t use any engineering or pit personnel that are involved in Formula 1. The rules of the competition states that the teams remain small, and that at any given event they will have access to two drivers, one engineer and four mechanics.
McLaren decided to enter the Extreme E series as a way to boost its sustainability agenda, as well as equality, as each team has one male and one female driver. It also wants to reach a new audience with Extreme E’s race format that is unlike anything else on the motorsport calendar.
This isn’t the first time McLaren is getting involved with electric racing, of course. It has been involved in Formula E since the beginning, supplying the battery powertrains for the first two seasons.
The biggest winner from this announcement, however, is Extreme E. It has a couple of high-profile teams already, including Lewis Hamilton’s X44 and fellow Formula 1 driver Nico Rosberg’s X Racing Team.
