[Sport] Official: Cristina Gutiérrez and Sébastien Loeb will be the drivers of Lewis Hamilton's X44

[#Steeven.™]

As MARCA has been reporting in recent weeks, Sébastien Loeb and Cristina Gutiérrez will be the drivers of the X44 team, owned by Lewis Hamilton, for the inaugural season of the Extreme E. This has been made official today by the British structure, the most mediatic of the new contest promoted by Madrid businessman Alejandro Agag.

Both Loeb and Cristina recently had the chance to test drive the 550-horsepower purple and black Odyssey 21, the war colors of the Formula 1 world champion's team, in a test session at Donnington Park and both will be present at the collective tests of next week they will be held in Alcañiz.

"Crsitina is a great talent, she has a lot of future ahead of her"
Lewis Hamilton, founder of the X44 team

The British team - which will have technical support from Prodrive - was a Hamilton initiative framed in his environmental activism. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion welcomed his first signings: "I'm delighted to welcome Sébastien and Cristina to the X44. They are incredible drivers and I'm already looking forward to seeing what they are capable of in each race. Cristina is pure talent, with a great future ahead of him and Sébastien is a pilot that I have admired for years, so it is a pride and an emotion to have them on board "

 

A turning point in Gutiérrez's career
After having proven her worth in the Dakar, the signing of Cristina Gutiérrez by the X44 team will be a huge boost to her sports career. She faces the challenge of complementing a nine-time world rally champion at just 29 years old and, in addition, she will be the female participant with the most experience in raids (at least of those confirmed to date).

"That Hamilton asked me to join his team is like a dream come true. "
Cristina Gutiérrez, X44 pilot

"I am delighted to join X44, not only for giving me the opportunity to convey the message of the climate emergency, which is very important to me, but also to work with two of my idols," commented the Burgos. "Loeb is the most amazing rally driver of all time, so I'm happy to be his partner and hope to learn a lot."

"I am also a huge fan of Formula 1 and have watched Lewis racing for years, so him asking me to join his team is like a dream come true," she said.

 

Electric premiere for Loeb
The rally legend also has an interesting challenge in the Extreme E as it will be his competitive debut with an electrically powered raid car: "Joining the X44 is an opportunity to continue doing what I like the most, racing, and I'm looking forward to do it in an electric car. I've had the chance to drive it recently and it's amazing. Cristina is a fantastic driver, I'm looking forward to racing alongside her and seeing what we can achieve together. I'm impressed with what Lewis is doing in Formula 1, so working with him on this project is an honor. "

"Cristina is a fantastic rider, I can't wait to race with her and see what we can achieve together "
Sébastien Loeb, X44 driver

 

Five races and several messages
The Extreme E will start its inaugural season on March 20 and 21 in Al-Ula, Saudi Arabia, a field that the Spanish knows well from his experience in the Dakar 2020 and that Loeb will discover at the appointment next January.

It will be the Desert X-Prix, the first of the five rounds of the championship that will be held in places threatened by climate change (Ocean X-Prix in the Pink Lake; Arctic X-Prix in Greenland; Amazon X-Prix in Brazil and Glacier X-Prix in Patagonia) and in which the races will serve to raise awareness about this phenomenon. In addition, the championship will promote equality between the sexes by fostering mixed teams in which the contribution of the male or female driver will be equally valuable.