XE rivals voted for Andretti United due to “underdog" status
Timmy Hansen reckons his Extreme E rivals voted for him and Andretti United teammate Catie Munnings to start the Saudi Arabia final on pole because they were the “underdogs”.
Extreme E has incorporated a ‘Grid Play’ element that allows the public to vote for the team they want to start the last race on pole.
For the squads that do not progress to the final, they can pass on their percentage of the vote to one of the three teams that has qualified.
Lewis Hamilton’s X44 outfit was a clear winner of the fan vote, with Rosberg X Racing gaining the second-most support and then Andretti United was a distant third.
However, the Anglo-American squad was promoted to pole position thanks chiefly to the backing of Jenson Button’s JBXE team and that of Carlos Sainz Sr’s Acciona Sainz concern.
Asked by Motorsport.com why he felt Andretti United had been picked over X44 and RXR, Hansen quipped that team co-owner and McLaren Racing boss Zak Brown had offered a discount on the marque’s sportscars.
The 2019 World Rallycross champion also reckoned it was down to preventing the pre-race favourites from stealing an early march in the points.
“We were handed a lot of the votes from the other teams, so I'm really thankful that they did that,” said Hansen.
“I have a lot of beers to buy to the other teams. Maybe [it’s because] we came in as the underdogs after qualifying.
“None of the other teams want any team to run away in the championship. So, I think it is really that we were the underdogs.
“Also, I think Zak had to give away cheap McLaren cars.”
Hansen took the race start and immediately activated the hyperboost higher power mode to take an early lead before he was passed by Johan Kristoffersson on the run to Turn 1.
After the driver change, Munnings closed the gap to Kristoffersson’s teammate Molly Taylor during her one-lap stint but eventually finished 24 seconds behind.
Hansen went on to say that the inaugural Extreme E event had “exceeded any expectation” that he had, adding: “Even coming up with this idea is crazy enough.
“But to pull it off, and to do it on this level that has been done this weekend from the whole organisation from the championship, it's been done incredibly well, even though it's the first race for everyone.
“I'm excited to see where this is going to take off to. This championship has an incredibly bright future.”
Related video
Agag: Inaugural Extreme E event created "motorsport gold"
How Extreme E exceeded expectations to pass its first major test
How XE's Arctic adventure gave a chilly reminder of the fixes to find
Extreme E’s third round provided the very definition of extreme conditions in the Arctic Circle, and despite settling on a successful format and Andretti United taking a maiden win, there remains plenty of work to do with the spec cars that froze in action
Why McLaren’s surprise electric path can benefit everyone involved
McLaren's announcement that it will enter the Extreme E series for electric SUVs next year came as something of a surprise. But it brings benefits that other championships it could seek to enter cannot, while providing a timely boost to a start-up that has had to cancel two of its South American rounds.
Why Extreme E's Senegal round hints at the series' true potential
Extreme E's second round on the sands of Senegal refined some the more clunky aspects of the series' debut event in Saudi Arabia. Even though its star-studded finale between Lewis Hamilton's X44 team and Rosberg X Racing proved anticlimactic, the pieces are in place for the series to only get better
How Extreme E exceeded expectations to pass its first major test
The racing may have lacked the explosive conclusion to Formula E's first race in 2014 and was not without its hiccups. But Extreme E's leap into the unknown appears to have paid off, delivering a spectacle quite unlike anything else
Extreme E: The team-by-team guide
The world’s newest motorsport discipline is set to go racing for the first time this weekend. Extreme E’s innovations and plans have raised some eyebrows, but it also provides an exciting list of competitors and teams for the inaugural campaign
How Extreme E’s charging solution could transform motorsport
The new off-road SUV series aims to go boldly into the unknown on several fronts, but perhaps its most significant measure will involve the energy source powering its fleet of cars
How XE's star power puts Formula E under pressure
With the addition of Jenson Button's own team to join the involvement of fellow Formula 1 champions Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg in Extreme E's ranks, the new electric SUV series is brimming with star power to enable it to deliver on its promise
Driving the electric beast behind XE’s off-road eco-crusade
In October, Motorsport.com headed to the South of France to sample the Odyssey 21 - the titanic 550bhp machine underpinning Alejandro Agag's latest electric venture. But for such a big beast, it's a nimble machine that should provide spectacular entertainment…