Just Electric

Hansen: “Racing electric cars is the only way forward”

Ahead of the first event of the season, Andretti United driver Timmy Hansen spoke with the press about his preparation and his expectations ahead of his Extreme E debut.

The Swedish driver has highlighted the variety of challenging track Extreme E introduces, which guarantees exciting new forms of racing for both the drivers and the public. “We are in the middle of the desert, the car is very different, but you know I love this kind of challenge. There is no way anyone could be totally prepared, it was all kind of a guess, all of us tried to get the best we could”, said Hansen.

Along with teammate Catie Munnings, they went sand dune testing weeks ago to get some preparation ahead of their debut. “For Catie and me, it was trying to get any kind of idea on how it is like to drive in the sand, being able to feel the surface”, he explained, but also reckoned that “This car is different to the one we used”.

Hansen and Munnings have been working together ahead of the season. Due to the pandemic and the lockdown England went through, they did their preparation in his native Sweden: “Because of the quarantine in the UK, she couldn’t go back home, so instead of going to England and being at a hotel, we went to Sweden and did some ice driving and a couple of different things. Just being on race cars and trying to drive”.

He has highlighted the work done by his teammate and her qualities as a driver: “She’s still young and is taking a massive step up. She has a lot of talent and it’s been very fun to work together”.  

Hansen has been very enthusiastic about racing electric cars and the impact the series have on the fight against climate change. “Electric cars are the future, they are the cars which will be all in the streets soon, and that’s why we need to race electric cars on the racetracks”, he said during press conference. “Racing electric cars is the only way forward. And technology-wise, the cars are incredible”, he added.

He mentioned his experience on board of St. Helena learning first-hand the scientists’ research and work on climate change marked him. “Someone said that there has been enough research done about climate change, and now it’s time for action. And someone has to go out and tell the message, and that’s what Extreme E is about”, Hansen explained.

“We are here to highlight environmental changes and still continue to do what we love, motorsports, but in a more environmentally friendly way”, he added.

Coming from a rallycross background, he was asked about his motivation to join the Extreme E series. “I’m still in love with rallycross and our family’s team, so I’m actually going to combine both types of racing –it’s going to be a busy year. But a challenge like this one it’s a big adventure on a professional and personal level”, Hansen expressed, and added that “The race car is cool, and the racetrack is cool, too, so it was an easy choice to come race here”.

Image courtesy of Extreme E

Andrea Perilli

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