Extreme H cites shrinking gender gap in driver performances

Extreme H has released findings from a study of driver lap times at its inaugural FIA World Cup event which shows that the average time gap between male and female drivers was just 0.36s.

The average was taken across the Time Trial, four-car, and eight-car races that took place over the three-day event in Qiddiya City in October. Additionally, times taken from the "Super Sector" represented a 91 percent improvement in female driver lap times since Extreme E – Extreme H’s predecessor – launched in 2021. In that first season, of what was then a battery-electric series, the average gap between male and female drivers stood at 4.5 seconds – in Extreme H, the average "Super Sector" gap between genders was just 0.4s.

“The FIA Extreme H World Cup isn’t just transforming motorsport, it’s redefining what equality in sport looks like,” said Extreme H founder and CEO Alejandro Agag. “In its very first event, Extreme H has already become one of the most powerful platforms for women in professional sport, and this is only the beginning.

“Through Extreme E and now Extreme H, we’ve built an environment where the world’s best female drivers compete equally with the world’s best full stop, names like FIA world champions Sebastien Loeb, Carlos Sainz, Nasser Al-Attiyah, Jenson Button, Johan Kristoffersson and Timmy Hansen. The results speak for themselves: when opportunity is equal, performance follows. That’s the change we set out to prove.”

Throughout Extreme E and Extreme H, teams have been required to field a driver line-up with a 50:50 gender split, with one driver starting the race and the other finishing it after a mid-race driver swap. The format has allowed already highly rated female drivers to compete alongside established male champions, while also providing opportunities for up-and-comers to prove their worth.

One example of this is American racer Gray Leadbetter who – despite missing the Extreme E finale which occurred a week before the FIA Extreme H World Cup and only competing in four Extreme E rounds across two events beforehand – registered the fifth-best average time across the whole events, ranking better than the likes of eight-time World Rallycross and double Extreme E champion Johan Kristoffersson, Extreme H World Cup winner Kevin Hansen, and two-time DTM champion Timo Scheider.

“Racing cars is the one sport where it doesn't matter if you're a male or female, and having the opportunity with Extreme H to do it against some of the best is a fantastic opportunity for us as females to prove that we have the same power and capabilities of the men,” she said.

Burcu Cetinkaya, chair of the FIA Women in Motorsport Commission, added, “The FIA Extreme H World Cup sets a new benchmark for equality in motorsport. Its equal-gender format is data-driven and proves that when opportunity is truly equal, performance is defined by talent – not gender.

“Equal opportunity also means equal time and access to expertise. Many females enter the sport but don’t receive the same development time, which impacts results. Encouragingly, in the FIA Extreme H World Cup, the data shows the performance gap – measured in seconds – has been decreasing significantly.

“This is a powerful example of how inclusive, well-structured competition can drive real progress and inspire the next generation of female racers.”