Kevin Hansen replaces Button for Ocean X-Prix

Kevin Hansen will replace Jenson Button at JBXE for the Ocean X-Prix in Senegal next week.

Button took on both team owner and driving duties during Extreme E’s inaugural event in Saudi Arabia. He and team-mate Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky finished sixth in both qualifying and the race, putting JBXE sixth in the championship overall.

The 2009 Formula 1 world champion will focus on his team owner role in Senegal, with Hansen jumping in to race alongside Åhlin-Kottulinsky. Button will return to driving duties for the third round of the championship in Greenland.

“I’m delighted to announce that an opportunity has arisen for Kevin Jansen to compete for JBXE in Senegal,” Button said. “I’m obviously wearing two hats with JBXE as both a driver but also team owner, and it’s the latter which means having the opportunity to put Kevin in the car for this race was one I didn’t want to pass up.

“Brother of course to Timmy Hansen and son to Rallycross legend Kenneth Hansen, Kevin has a fantastic pedigree and has already achieved so much in the world of rallycross at such a young age. He’s an exciting driver and I can’t wait to see him representing JBXE in Senegal, and I look forward to being back behind the wheel in Greenland.”

Hansen was one of the first drivers to sign up for Extreme E’s Driver Programme in 2019, along with brother Timmy, and got the chance to test the Odyssey 21 when the car was still in development.

“I’ve been so involved in the series and developing the car since the beginning, from the early testing programme right to Aragon last year, so to get this opportunity now with Jenson is so nice and I’m super excited to get to Senegal and see what I can do,” he said.

“I’m so happy to be joining Mikaela also. I hope together we can be strong as I believe she is one of the strongest drivers in the championship and I’ve known her for a very long time. She’s very talented so this is a huge opportunity for us to be working together, and we have so much history in sharing the car together so it is going to be nice to be with her in this event, and I think we can do a good job together.”

Despite his young age, Hansen already has a successful career in rallycross. He took the 2015 RX2 title and became the youngest driver to win the European Rallycross championship the following year.

Image courtesy of Extreme E