Hamilton / Rosberg, the duel resumes in Extreme E!

This is the story of a duel combining romance and intensity that has marked the world of motor racing. The biggest showdown of the hybrid era of Formula 1 between two talented drivers, teammates in the most dominant team that the top category has ever known.

On the evening of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2016, which gave the title to the German driver, no one expected this head-to-head to suddenly stop. And yet, Nico Rosberg decided to retire from the sport a few days later, at the peak of his glory.

If a good number of people criticized her at her time, this rivalry is missing today in Formula 1, which is dominated without sharing by the British driver. We would now talk about this great rivalry in the past, the German world champion will never climb back into a competitive F1 car.

Extreme E, unexpected revival of the now legendary duel

But that was without counting on Extreme E! A new category created by Alejandro Agag (founder of the Formula E World Championship), Extreme E could be defined as 100% electric rally raid. But in reality, the newborn is much more than that.

Seeking to raise awareness about the climate disasters of our time and the need for ecological transition, Agag has devised a program of 5 races around the world, from the Sahara to Patagonia via Dakar, Greenland, and the Amazon.

On the grid side, big names are expected: besides Rosberg and Hamilton, Jenson Button and Carlos Sainz also have their team and will both drive throughout the championship. Jean-Eric Vergne is also part of the game, being the director of the Veloce Racing team. Chip Ganassi, Andretti, ABT Cupra, and Hispano Suiza complete the grid.

In pilots, the particularity is the gender parity in the crews, another very nice advancement in the series.

On the celebrity side, we note the presence of Sébastien Loeb, Johan Kirstoffersson, Timmy Hansen, Stéphane Sarrazin, Mattias Ekström, and Jamie Chadwick in addition to Button and Sainz.

YEARS in the making… THIS is Extreme E!#ExtremeE #DesertXPrix pic.twitter.com/L0aCCzYgVV

— Extreme E (@ExtremeELive) April 4, 2021

Qualifying on a green carpet for Team Hamilton, the race for the Rosberg crew

During the qualifications of this Desert X Prix, it was the Rosberg X Racing team (composed of Kristoffersson and Molly Taylor) that dominated the discussions. However, Taylor exceeded the speed limit by 14 km/h in the driver change zone and therefore received a penalty, dropping them from first to third place.

It is the X44 duo (Sébastien Loeb and Cristina Gutiérrez) who claimed pole position ahead of Carlos Sainz and his teammate Laia Sanz. Note the spectacular accidents of Sarrazin (Veloce) and Hürtgen (ABT) who both had to retire from the competition.

Following the qualifications, the semi-finals took place to determine the 3 finalists for the race. In this game, the Rosberg and Hamilton crews widely dominated the pack, and it is Andretti led by Timmy Hansen who secured the 3rd spot.

For the race, Hansen having received the Grid Play (Fan Boost of Extreme E) starts from the best side of the track. After two corners, Kirstoffersson takes the lead and is not worried anymore, while Loeb had a power steering issue on his mount.

The change of driver mid-race will not change anything because Molly Taylor will finish 24 seconds ahead of Catie Munnings and 1 minute 30 ahead of Gutierrez.

Round 1 ✅

Here’s how things stand in the Teams’ Championship.#ExtremeE pic.twitter.com/RPitUqUdKM

— Extreme E (@ExtremeELive) April 7, 2021

In the cumulative ranking, Rosberg (35 points) takes the lead ahead of Hamilton (30) and Andretti (28). Next stop of the Extreme E, on May 29 and 30 in Dakar, Senegal for the Ocean X Prix.

This first X Prix in history has seen the revival of one of the most beautiful rivalries in motorsport for our greatest pleasure. The battle promises to be tight!