Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button will contest the inaugural season of the Extreme E off-road series - and for his own team.
The Somerset driver, who won the 2009 F1 title for Brawn GP, will drive for his own JBXE squad in the new electric off-road SUV series, which is due to begin in Saudi Arabia on 3/4 April.
Each outfit in Extreme E must field a male and female driver to share a 550bhp off-road buggy, and Button’s team-mate has yet to be named.
Since his final F1 season in 2017, Button has competed in a range of motorsport categories, winning the Japanese Super GT title in 2018 and making appearances in the World Endurance Championship.
Last year, he co-founded a British GT team, Jenson Team Rocket RJN, for which he competed in the season finale at Sivlerstone. He also recently became a special adviser to the Williams F1 team.
Button has tackled a number of off-road events, too, including the long-running Baja 1000. His late father John was a leading rallycross driver in the British championship in the 1970s and 1980s, and he has long expressed a desire to take in more off-road competition.
“JBXE has been a long time coming, and I'm both delighted and proud to announce its formation and entry into the inaugural Extreme E Championship,” said Button. “I caught the off-road bug a few years back, which led to me entering my own team in a few races, including the Mint 400 and even the Baja 1000, and I absolutely loved it.”
Button is the third F1 champion to take ownership of an Extreme E squad, joining seven-time title-winner Lewis Hamilton and 2016 winner Nico Rosberg.
Extreme E boss Alejandro Agag, founder and CEO of Extreme E said: “Jenson, alongside his peers, will give further weight to our mission to raise awareness of the global climate crisis, while doing what we love: racing.”
READ MORE
Jenson Button on life after F1, sim racing and being a TV pundit
Button speaks out on his career, supercars and superyachts (from 2018)
Why Extreme E will signal a new era of motorsport in 2021
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This is beginning to sound interesting.
Let's hope it gets some decent coverage on free to air in order to build a worthwhile following.
That's the trouble, free to air, you don't have to make the effort to support your chosen sport, you just sit there, staring at the screen, put it on pause to go to the Fridge or go to the Loo, it's anti social, and you can watch them as often as you like, so, where's the drive?, that's why most sports have lower and lower attendance, and yes, I know there's a Pandemic.
Well in theory it sounds great and hopefully more entertaining than watching the current lot drive round a perfectly smooth road for 2 hours at a time. They just need to make sure the have some really great interactive camera options, otherwise it may end up being just as dull to watch as the track lot (and I used to watch every F1 race and attend 2 or 3 a year, 25 years ago).
All PR for the new form of EV car racing, having big name motor racing stars taking part generates interest, more investment, more profit, it certainly will be entertaining, I remember another racing series like this a few years back where ex F1 drivers like Nigel Mansell took part, it bombed I think.