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 07:25 · Hazel Southwell]

Your semi-final competitiors

It’s Acciona Sainz, X44 and Rosberg Extreme in the semi-final: the starting drivers are multiple-time Dakar and World Rally Championship winner Carlos Sainz (senior, not to be confused with his F1-driver son), three-time World Rallycross Johan Kristofferson for Rosberg Extreme and the most successful driver in the history of the World Rally Championship, Sebastien Loeb, for X44.

[4 April 2021 07:22 · Lawrence Ostlere]

Watch Extreme E’s semi-final

Extreme E’s semi-final, crazy race and shootout will be broadcast in the UK on their YouTube, social media and Sky Sports Action

[4 April 2021 07:16 · Hazel Southwell]

It’s hot out there already - and the sand’s being whipped up in the wind

[4 April 2021 07:15 · Hazel Southwell]

Amazingly, ABT Cupra have repaired the car overnight after this horrific crash

[4 April 2021 07:12 · Hazel Southwell]

Here’s the groups for today

[4 April 2021 07:11 · Hazel Southwell]

How Extreme E teams work

Extreme E teams have two drivers: one male, one female. They drive equally and share the same car - so if you’re the first driver, there’s major pressure to bring the car home in one piece for the second. There’s a switchover midway through the two-lap runs they do over the course and procedures have to be carefully followed during that, including slowing down enough to arrive at the switch area and waiting the mandatory 45 seconds before they move off again.

[4 April 2021 07:09 · Hazel Southwell]

Unfortunately, a crash in qualifying one means Veloce won’t be going further at AlUla

[4 April 2021 07:08 · Hazel Southwell]

Lewis Hamilton’s X44 topped qualifying - but Nico Rosberg’s team was fastest

Extreme E’s qualifying yesterday was drama-packed, with Molly Taylor and Johan Kristoffersson from Rosberg Extreme setting the fastest time in both sessions. However, they were hit with a 60 second penalty in the former session and slipped to overall third. The two former rivals’ teams are joined by another F1-related team in the semi-final; Acciona Sainz, where Carlos Sainz Jnr’s rally legend dad will be showing who really knows the dunes best.

[4 April 2021 07:06 · Hazel Southwell]

[4 April 2021 07:05 · Hazel Southwell]

Course recap

Yesterday was the first day cars have run the course here in the rocky dunes of AlUla; that’s definitely caused what, in circuit racing, you might call “track evolution.” Usually that means there’s a cleaner line for cars to take - in this case, with the Odyssey-21 cars careening through sand, it means there are gigantic grooves developing in the sand, making the landscape ever more treacherous. They caught out a few cars yesterday, including a huge crash for ABT Cupra’s Claudia Huertgen. The team have repaired that car, although they weren’t able to compete in yesterday’s qualifying as a result.