Lewis Hamilton’s X44 team has confirmed it won’t be participating in Extreme E this year, bringing an end to its three-year stay in the all-electric off-road category.
While not linked to the recent news of Hamilton’s impending move to Ferrari, the team’s participation in this year was thrown into doubt when Rodin made no mention of Extreme E in its plans for 2024 when it confirmed it was assuming full control of Carlin. X44 was run by Carlin in 2023, taking over from Prodrive which operated the entry in 2021 and ’22.
“After three years as part of the Extreme E family, we’re today announcing that X44 will be departing the series,” the team said in a statement. “We’ve had an incredible three seasons competing as X44, winning multiple races and even a world championship.
“Thank you to our drivers Cristina Gutierrez, Fraser McConnell and Sebastien Loeb, and all our talented teammates who worked hard to help us achieve everything we did. Even more than the results on track, we’re proud to have been part of a bigger conversation about how to make motorsport more sustainable, of our success in giving people from all kinds of backgrounds an opportunity to thrive in this team, and of the legacy our team owner Lewis will leave behind with the Racing for All program.”
X44 leaves Extreme E as its second-most successful team behind Rosberg X Racing, with four event wins in three seasons, a qualifying sweep across 2021, and a championship title in 2022. Gutierrez, who will race for NEOM McLaren this year, drove for the team for the entirety of its run in Extreme E, being joined by Loeb for the first two seasons, and McConnell last year.
While the team won’t be competing this season, it has left the door open to returning once the series transitions to hydrogen fuel cell cars, a move that will take place next year.
“Although we won’t be competing ourselves in 2024, we’ll be cheering on the series from the sidelines and keeping an eye on the exciting developments at Extreme H,” said the team’s statement. “Thank you for all your support.”