Extreme E LIVE: Results and reaction from Desert X Prix final

Follow all the reaction from the Desert X Prix final after Rosberg XR beat Hamilton’s X44 and Andretti United

Extreme E: Claudia Hurtgen crashes during Desert X Prix qualifying

Rosberg Extreme are the very first Desert X-Prix winners! Extreme E’s first finals day promised plenty after two enthralling qualifying sessions yesterday suggested there will be entertainment when the cars finally go wheel-to-wheel, and the final day was absorbing.

The brand new motorsport series is making its debut in AlUla, Saudi Arabia, one of five extreme environments over the year chosen not only for the remarkable landscape – think the Amazon rainforest and the Arctic ice – but also for their susceptibility to the climate crisis as the series aims to raise awareness as it goes. The fully electric SUVs went head to head here in a semi-final between the top three from qualifying (two final spots up for grabs), a second semi-final called the ‘crazy race’ between the next three from qualifying (one final spot), before a shoot out between the bottom three simply to decide their points ranking.

And it was Nico Rosberg’s XR team who won the inaugural Extreme E race in the Saudi Arabia desert, beating Lewis Hamilton’s X44 and Andretti United. Follow all the reaction below.

Read more:

• Watch Extreme E with our live stream
• Jenson Button: What it’s like to drive an Extreme E car
• Catie Munnings: ‘Motorsport can be selfish’
• Qualifying report as Hamilton X44 take top spot

Championship standings after Desert X Prix

1. Taylor/Kristoffersson (Rosberg XR) 35 points
2. Loeb/Gutierrez (X44) 30
3. Munnings/Hansen (Andretti) 28
4. Sainz/Sanz (Sainz) 26
5. Giampaoli Zonca/Bennett ( Hispano Suiza) 20
6. Ahlin-Kottulinsky/Button (JBXE) 17
7. Hurtgen/Ekstrom (ABT Cupra) 13
8. Leduc/Price (Ganassi) 12
9. Chadwick/Sarrazin (Veloce) 8

Desert X Prix

• Rosberg XR clinch victory in Desert X Prix
• Teams Rosberg and Hamilton knock out Sainz to reach final
• Britain’s Catie Munnings also reaches final after ‘crazy race'

[4 April 2021 08:14 · Hazel Southwell]

Catie Munnings brings it home to make the final

It’s Andretti United who join X44 and Rosberg Extreme in the final - Hispano Suiza and JBXE will be exiting here but for the two latest entrants to Extreme E, a lot to be pleased about this weekend after getting themselves into competitive positions and with no major issues.

[4 April 2021 08:11 · Hazel Southwell]

[4 April 2021 08:09 · Hazel Southwell]

Andretti are in the lead away from the driver switchover and Catie Munnings looks safely and set to claim the place in the final

The start was mega, after that - that was even better than planned, I was happy being clear, going into the chicane. By the end of the lap, I heard I had a big gap so I let up a little.

Timmy Hansen

[4 April 2021 08:07 · Hazel Southwell]

Getting into the cars at the switchover: European rally champion Catie Munnings, who did an absolutely heroic job bringing the Andretti United car back on three wheels after a puncture in qualifying one yesterday, Christine Giampaoli-Zonca for Hispano Suiza and Extreme E tyre tester and Swedish touring car driver Mikaela Ahlin-Kottulinsky for JBXE.

[4 April 2021 08:04 · Hazel Southwell]

Bennett has been able to hang on behind Hansen - it’s an absolutely mega job by the Bristolian Hispano-Suiza driver; the gap is only five seconds, which could easily be made up when there’s been the driver switchover.

[4 April 2021 08:02 · Hazel Southwell]

And the Crazy Race is now on

Andretti United’s Timmy Hansen takes the lead off the line while Oliver Bennett gets the jump on Jenson Button and leaves the former F1 champion in the dust. Bennett is in hot pursuit of Hansen, though - looks like there could be more of a race on, here.

[4 April 2021 07:59 · Hazel Southwell]

[4 April 2021 07:56 · Hazel Southwell]

There’s a long run to the first corner - what you might as well think of as a straight, on circuit racing. That’s pretty much a drag race, if you can call careening through thick sand that, to see who can get ahead into turn two and get that massively important clean air, rather than being in the sand tunnel behind.

[4 April 2021 07:53 · Hazel Southwell]

The starting drivers are Oliver Bennett for Hispano Suiza, Timmy Hansen for Andretti United and Jenson Button is taking the first run at the course for his team.

Just go really fast and lead into turn two and then basically just cruise it from there

Jenson Button on his tactical plan

[4 April 2021 07:51 · Hazel Southwell]

Next up: the Crazy Race

This is the second race that can qualify you for the final. These are the fourth, fifth and sixth place qualifying cars, so we’ve got Andretti United, Hispano Suiza and Jenson Button’s JBXE team ready to race. The winner will go through to join X44 and Rosberg Extreme in the final.