Formula One icon Adrian Newey to lead electric racing team
Formula One design supremo Adrian Newey will lead a team in the environment-focused Extreme E series.
Newey is chief technical officer at Red Bull, designing cars which won four consecutive constructors’ titles and four drivers’ championships for Sebastian Vettel between 2010 and 2013.
The 60-year-old will act as ‘lead visionary’ for Veloce is the 12-team competition which will see drivers race full-electric SUV cars.
The Englishman said: "The series is an exceptional platform for drawing attention to the Earth's environmental challenges and driving change."
Greenland has been unveiled as one of five locations for the competition, which was founded by Formula E chairman Alejandro Agag.
The desert, the Arctic, the rainforest, the Himalayas and an island in the Indian Ocean were all identified as areas vulnerable to climate change, which Extreme E is aiming to help stop.
Newey’s son Harrison is acting as one of five co-founders of the team, alongside former Formula E champion Jean-Eric Vergne.
And he said the purpose of the new competition is to raise awareness of climate change.
Vergne said: "For me, it was clear I had to be involved since I first saw the concept.
“Together with my other co-founders, we have worked incredibly hard to make this happen. We plan to be disruptive in our approach as we drive awareness of climate change."
Venturi, ABT, and HWA will act as confirmed teams alongside Veloce.
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