Jenson Button becomes boss-driver in Extreme E

Jenson Button is a busy man. Just days after his appointment as special advisor to the Williams team en Formula 1, the Briton launches his own Extreme E team, JBXE Racing.

The 2009 F1 world champion imitates Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton, but unlike his former adversaries, he will also don the pilot's helmet!

I'm delighted to announce I will be joining Extreme E for the inaugural season with my team @jbxeracing Can't wait to get my hands on the Extreme E beast. Thanks again to our fantastic partners Apater Capital and @pipt. Follow @jbxeracing to keep up to date with the teams news pic.twitter.com/7W14XkZ5vS

- Jenson Button (@JensonButton) January 25, 2021

“I caught the off-road bug a few years ago, specifies the 2018 Super GT champion. In 2019 I competed in a few off-road races like the Mini 400 and even the Baja 1000 in the United States, I loved this experience.

It was around the same time that I heard rumors about Extreme E. What Alejandro Agag and Ali Russell have achieved is simply incredible. Their product will deliver a world-class motorsport spectacle while highlighting climate change. »

Jenson Button also recalls that “ Extreme E is the first category to propose total equality between the sexes with one male and one female driver in each team. » Her teammate has not yet been announced.

Thanks to this arrival, the electric SUV championship once again has 10 teams entered, as was the case before HWA’s withdrawal this winter. Nine structures had in fact made the trip during the collective tests at Motorland Aragon (Spain).

The kick-off is scheduled for Al Ula, Saudi Arabia, on April 3-4.