Reigning Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton will field his own team in the upcoming inaugural Extreme E series.
It is the first venture into team ownership for the Briton.
Hamilton will not drive for the team and will delegate day-to-day running to a management structure.
The team will be called X44, in deference to Hamilton’s personal number, which he has used in Formula 1 since the scheme was adopted in 2014.
“Extreme E is an exciting new sustainability initiative, and this is a great opportunity to be involved from the outset as a team founder,” said Hamilton.
“Of course, my ambitions and commitments with Mercedes in Formula 1 mean that I won’t be operationally involved in X44, but I’m excited to play a different role in this new series, one that brings my vision for a more sustainable and equal world to life.
“Extreme E really appealed to me because of its environmental focus.
“Every single one of us has the power to make a difference, and it means so much to me that I can use my love of racing, together with my love for our planet, to have a positive impact.
“Not only will we visit remote locations facing the front line of the climate crisis, we will also work closely with these locations and leading climate experts to share our knowledge and leave behind a positive legacy in each location which goes far beyond the race track.
“As Founder of X44, I am looking forward to building my team around important values such as sustainability and equality.
“None of us are perfect and we all have improvements to make, but I am excited to use our platform to highlight the most serious issues facing our planet and the solutions we can all be part of.”
X44 joins several other high-profile Extreme E entrants, including Ganassi, Andretti and Techeetah.
