Extreme E News

Transfer carousel: News ticker on the driver:inside changes in Extreme E

Tobias Wirtz

Tobias Wirtz

The Extreme E starts on March 11 in its third season. This year, there are also some changes in the driver:inside lineup of the teams. You can read about which ones in this article. We update this news ticker regularly in the run-up to the season opener.

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>> Championship team X44 loses Loeb - Gutierrez & McConnell new duo

[07.03. | 11:00] Reigning Extreme E champions, X44, have become the latest team to unveil their driver:inside duo for the 2023 season. Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton's racing team confirmed on Tuesday morning that Cristina Gutierrez will contest a third year with the British team.

However, she will have a new teammate: Up-and-coming rallycross talent Fraser McConnell will take over in place of rally legend Sebastien Loeb. And there is also a change in the team's management, with Stephanie Carlin taking over as team principal from now on. Her deputy is to be Formula One engineer Stephanie Travers.

>> Tamara Molinaro & Andreas Bakkerud new Championship Drivers

[06.03. | 10:00] Tamara Molinaro and Andreas Bakkerud are the "Championship Drivers" for Season 3. In preparation for the rounds, they will design and test the tracks and then be available as replacements should a driver drop out. Both have already been working on the Neom (Saudi Arabia) course this week, Extreme E writes on Twitter.

Molinaro already held this role in the first season and subsequently received a regular cockpit at Xite Energy Racing. Andreas Bakkerud made his name primarily in rallycross racing. From 2014 to 2020, he raced in the WRX World Rallycross Championship and was even runner-up in 2019. In 2021 he became champion of Euro RX1, a frame series of the WRX. He gained his first electric experience last season in the Nitro RX electric class, which he finished second overall.

>> Surprise: Heikki Kovalainen to start alongside Hedda Hosas for JBXE

[03.03. | 10:00] Prominent new arrival at JBXE: Heikki Kovalainen will contest the 2023 season for the team together with Hedda Hosas. The 41-year-old Finn competed in Formula 1 from 2007 to 2013 - including for McLaren, where he won the Hungarian Grand Prix in 2008. Unable to match the performance of his teammate Lewis Hamilton, he was replaced by world champion Jenson Button at the end of the 2009 season.

He will now compete in Extreme E for this Jenson Button, of all people, and will face his former team McLaren as well as his ex-teammate Hamilton's Team X44, among others. The motorsports world is smaller than you think.

His partner, Hedda Hosas, started the second season as a "championship driver", replacing the injured Christine GZ at Veloce Racing in the season opener, before becoming a regular driver at JBXE from the second round of the season. Here she and Kevin Hansen scored third place in the first race of the Island X Prix in Sardinia.

>> Carl Cox Motorsports signs Christine GZ & Timo Scheider

[02 Mar | 12:00] It was announced on Thursday that newcomer team Carl Cox Motorsport has signed a driver:inside pairing with plenty of Extreme E experience: Christine GZ and Timo Scheider will compete for the racing team next season.

Christine Giampaoli Zonca, as the Spaniard's full name is called, competed for Xite Energy Racing in the racing series' debut season. She switched to Veloce for the second season, but became the race series' "championship driver" after the fourth round of the season, meaning she was the official reserve driver. Now she gets her third regular cockpit in the third season. Her best result in Extreme E so far was a fifth-place finish at the 2021 Desert X Prix.

Timo Scheider was also a championship driver in the first season, but remained without an entry. From the second round of the second season, he took over the cockpit from Oliver Bennett at Xite Energy Racing, where he finished second directly in his first race together with Tamara Molinaro.

>> Matias Ekström makes Extreme E comeback at Acciona Sainz

[01.03. | 12:00] Team Acciona Sainz is entering its third season with a new driver: Mattias Ekström will contest the "double-header" in 2023 for the Spanish team. Carlos Sainz sr. is still recovering from the two fractured vertebrae he sustained in a rollover during the Dakar Rally in mid-January. However, he will support the team in the paddock at the season opener.

Ekström contested the inaugural season of the racing series for ABT Cupra, scoring a second-place finish at the 2021 Iceland X Prix with Jutta Kleinschmidt. His partner will be Laia Sanz, who is entering her third season with the team. Together with Sainz, she finished third in the championship this past season and scored second place twice.

>> Chip Ganassi Racing starts with Amanda Sorensen & RJ Anderson

[28 Feb | 15:00] Chip Ganassi Racing enters its third season with a new driver:inside lineup: Amanda Sorensen and RJ Anderson will pilot the Hummer-look car. While Anderson already made his debut in the racing series at last season's finale, filling in for Kyle LeDuc, who was unable to attend due to another race, Sorensen is new to Extreme E.

The 22-year-old U.S. native hails from Las Vegas and has had several years of off-road and drifting experience. However, she has not yet participated in an international racing series.

>> RXR confirms Ahlin-Kottulinsky & Kristoffersson

[Feb 21 | 18:00] It's business as usual at Rosberg X Racing: Formula One world champion Nico Rosberg's team has signed Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky and Johan Kristoffersson for its third Extreme E season as well. The electric series made the announcement on Tuesday.

Rallycross world champion Johan Kristoffersson has been part of the German RXR team since Race 1 and was instrumental in winning the title in Season 1. Together with his compatriot Ahlin-Kottulinsky, who switched from JBXE to Rosberg before Season 2, he won two of five races in 2022. Even though they narrowly missed defending the title in Punta del Este, Kristoffersson and Ahlin-Kottulinsky remain top favorites to win the title in Season 3.

"I am very happy that Mikaela and Johan have signed for another season," said team boss Nico Rosberg. "With their experience and track record, we are perfectly prepared for the championship fight. Last year, unfortunately, we didn't take home the championship trophy, but this year we want to give it our all!"

 
 
 
 
 
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additional reporting by Svenja König and Tobias Bluhm

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