Hamilton’s X44 top Extreme E qualifying heat sessions in NEOM

NEOM: X44 will be first on the grid after a mega Extreme E qualifying session on Saturday, followed by Genesys Andretti United in second and Chip Ganassi Racing in third.

Nine-time World Rally Championship-winner Sebastian Loeb and Cristina Gutierrez emerged victorious in the first heat on the new NEOM track, while Andretti’s Timmy Hansen and Catie Munnings sealed the deal in the second heat qualifying session under the new racing rules.

Back for its second season, Extreme E returned to Saudi Arabia for the Desert X Prix, held in NEOM for the first time. Season 2 featured a new racing format, including the pressure of two five-car races for Q2.  

X44, founded by seven-time Formula 1 world champion Lewis Hamilton, had a stellar performance, collecting a total of 19 points from both qualifying sessions, which will put them at a great advantage for Sunday’s semifinals. A 17-second penalty collected by Rosberg X Racing for over-speeding in the driver switch point dropped them to fifth place, allowing Genesys Andretti United to claim second with 18 points.

In the new format, points are awarded to drivers depending on where they finish in qualifying. This then gives an intermediate classification that will decide the order for which cars progress through to semifinal 1, semifinal 2 and the “Crazy Race” — the top two teams from each semifinal and the winner of the “Crazy Race” progress to the final on Sunday.

After an action-packed morning of single-car sprints, the starting order for the heats was set.

The first four saw X44’s Loeb, Sainz XE’s Carlos Sainz, Chip Ganassi’s Sara Price and ABT Cupra’s debut driver Nasser Al-Attiyah kick off heat one of Q2, with Veloce Racing unable to partake due to Christine