Hamilton is planning drive in X44 SUV

Lewis Hamilton will get behind the wheel of his X44 team’s SUV – but it will still not be via an outing in the inaugural Extreme E series.

The six-time World Champion has launched his own Extreme E team called X44, named after the same number he uses to race with in Formula 1.

The announcement made it clear that Hamilton’s continued Formula 1 commitments would prevent him taking part in the series which begins this January in Senegal.

However, Hamilton has since revealed that he will take the car for an outing in non-competitive conditions.

“Most athletes we all have partnerships so there’s one element of wanting to be a part of something going forwards and my goal is one day to own a company of some sort so it’s part of that,” Hamilton said, as quoted by RaceFans.net.

“But, more so, I was just really impressed with their aims, with their goals, very much aligned with what I’m focused on right now. And I really think it’s going to be amazing.

“They’ve done a lot of work in the background and we’ve had great conversations with Alejandro [Agag]. I honestly can’t wait.

“I’m going to get to drive my own car since I own the team. I think obviously drivers in the past were team owners here in Formula 1. I think that’s something really exciting.

“I’ve learned a lot from Toto [Wolff] so maybe he can mentor me. I’ll manage my team. I love that it’s diverse, each team is pushed to be diverse. I said that we needed to have females in it so we’ve got female drivers now which is awesome. So I’m glad that I can contribute in a positive way, hopefully.”

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Alejandro Agag, founder and CEO of Extreme E, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Lewis Hamilton and his X44 team to Extreme E.

“Like us, Lewis is hugely passionate about motorsport, but also shares our belief that we can use sport to highlight climate change and equality.

“Lewis is one of the most successful drivers of all time, and we’re all excited to see how his X44 team performs on and off the race track under his incredible guidance.”

Extreme E now has eight teams signed up for its debut campaign with Team X44 joining Abt Sportsline, HWA, Veloce Racing, QEV Technologies, Andretti United Extreme E, Chip Ganassi Racing and Techeetah.

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