Hansen, Taylor make more history with last-minute Extreme H chance

When Extreme E’s fourth season came to an abrupt and premature pause midway through 2024, Veloce Racing was on the crest of a wave. After a revolving door of drivers, the arrival of World Rallycross race winner Kevin Hansen and Season 1 Extreme E champion Molly Taylor – along with some backroom changes – added stability and sustained competitiveness to the British team.

But when the season halted with Hansen and Taylor atop of the standings (and on back-to-back race victories), the pair were left with unfinished business. That wasn’t helped with Veloce not making it to Extreme E’s successor, the FIA Extreme H World Cup. Despite previously announcing its intention to compete, Veloce’s rapid growth in other areas – driven by its acquisition of Quadrant – led to a strategic decision to observe this year’s event before committing to entering a team in 2026.

“We were riding such a high last year when everything ended so abruptly,” Taylor tells RACER. “Then we've had over 12 months out of the car, not really knowing what was coming, if that was that was it, or if there'd be another light at the end of the tunnel

Hansen and Taylor did make it, though, thanks to a last-minute deal to race for the Saudi Arabian Jameel Motorsport entry. From there, they could pick up where they left off. But a mix of expectations from last year, and Extreme H’s three-discipline, three day format – which ultimately counted for nothing in the grand scheme of things, with the event winner being decided by a sole race at the end of the final day – meant that the pressure was at an all-time high.

“The amount of pressure has been incredible,” Hansen tells RACER. “Having executed so well for three days – we'd been there for two weeks – leading up to getting the points, leading into me choosing the best spot, all the pressure, everything is there to lose.

“So the pressure on the start, I've never experienced the amount of pressure. The people who are racing us are some of the best in the world.”

After finishing second in both the time trial and head-to-head contests, Jameel Motorsports topped the World Cup qualifying points table (which also included the results from two rounds of multi-car races) to get first pick of grid positions for the eight-car World Cup-deciding final. They went for the inside front row, a decision which allowed Hansen – who drove the first half of the four-lap race – to get away cleanly, cover off the inside line at the first corner, and escape the tense seven-way brawl behind.

“The start was great – it was horrendous before, but that's what I trained for. Then I pushed as much as I could manage in the situation to try and get the best situation, because anything can happen in this series, and hand it over,” Hansen relates. “Then it was smooth sailing and perfect execution to the finish.”

In winning the inaugural FIA Extreme H World Cup, Taylor and Hansen etched their names into the history books. They'll forever be the winners of the world's first hydrogen-powered motorsport competition, but for them there was also the personal satisfaction of finishing a job previously left half-done.

“To sort of finish where we started and to take the very first extreme H World Cup, I think this is something I’ll remember forever,” says Taylor. “It's a bit difficult to put into words. We were just putting everything into it.

“I've never been that emotional before, ever, when I've won a race before. This one just hit differently.”

For Hansen, who had to watch while his brother Timmy took the World Rallycross title in 2019, and then finished second in 2023 and '24, it wasn’t just about finishing the job from the 2024 Extreme E campaign, but also achieving a lifelong ambition of clinching an FIA world crown.

“Yes, it's redemption from a title that was taken away from us, I feel in a way. It for sure sweetens that,” he says. “And also you're just not doing it by luck, doing it by winning the overall points and doing that final race

“I've been fighting for a world title, and when I lost it in ‘19 it was awful. And then fighting for it since, every year. Things just let off, and it was incredible.”

While the title came down to the final race, the entire event demanded versatility. A single-lap (per driver) time trial, a head-to-head duels contest on a mostly straight alternate course, and typical four-car races preceded the headline event. Taylor and Hansen was second in the first two elements, having also took second in the final Extreme E race, held as a standalone farewell event the week before, but what they were in fact steadily building up to a crescendo.

“I think that makes it almost more special, because there were so many different elements you had to execute,” Taylor says of her Jameel team’s overall victory. “You couldn't just be strong in one field. And I think that's where the team has just done such an incredible job. We've been able to execute.

“In the head-to-head races the margins were nothing, so you're absolutely on the limit. And then the pressure to get the points in the races, when you never know what's going to happen, to be able to execute in all those different styles feels very good.”

Hansen adds, “To be second in the Extreme E racing then second in the time trial, second in the head-to-head, we just kept believing, kept pushing. Doing so great in all three disciplines, for sure, was a big pat on the back, and that's why I also feel like it's not just a random win, it's properly deserving for the hard work.”

Taylor's wins book-end both the Extreme E and H eras. Colin McMaster/Getty Images

Taylor added another landmark claim with her part in the victory. Four and a half years ago, when racing for Nico Rosberg’s Rosberg X Racing outfit alongside Johan Kristoffersson, she won the first Extreme E race as well – later going on to take the full season title – giving her the honor of winning the first editions of both "Extreme" competitions.

“It feels pretty good,” she says of the achievement. “In the very first Extreme E race, when we didn't know what we were in for, that'll always be very special. Johan did a mega job and I had this huge gap with all the dust, and it was probably a bit easier on my side.

“I feel like this year each driver really has to contribute equally. And I think that's one of the great things with the evolution of the championship. You can't write off one driver's skill. You really need to have both of you performing at the best possible level.”

After her back-to-back firsts, Taylor is already eyeing a maiden win in whatever the next "Extreme" category could be, saying, "Hey, why not?” But for now, her attention is already on the next edition of the FIA Extreme H World Cup: “We'll just try and take another Extreme H title next year.”