EXCLUSIVE | Driving progress: Managing Director Ali Russell on the future of Extreme H
The prospect of Extreme H has motorsport fans worldwide gripped with anticipation, as a debut race is set to take place before the end of 2025.
Driving Hydrogen’s Lyra Coulthard, interviewed Ali Russell, Managing Director of Extreme H, who provided some details to satisfy the world of motorsport’s collective curiosity surrounding the incoming series.
Why F1 fans should care about hydrogen racing
When questioned why a traditional F1 fan should be drawn to Extreme H, Russell provided a multitude of reasons: “We are an extension of their love of motorsports and have plenty of familiar figures that you would typically associate with Formula One, including Jenson Button and Nico Rosberg.
“We have borrowed from the legends of the sport and put them into a racing series with purpose at its heart. Extreme H is a proposition that’s more than just great racing; we’ve got gender equality, we’ve got diversity, and we’ve got a real dial-up on STEM and making STEM sexy.
“I know engineering is not typically a concept that would be described as sexy; it doesn’t really gel together, but I think sport can make it sexy.
Making STEM sexy – and inclusive
Extreme H provides glamour in a way that inspires people to strive for careers, not only in sport, but also in a range of STEM subjects.”
Sustainability is a key force driving Extreme H, but it is too large a concept to tackle without first addressing its individual components.
Russell did just this: “What we are trying to do is act as a test bed for companies that want to have sustainable solutions right through the supply chain. So that’s the production of green hydrogen, the storage, the logistics, the refuelling, the propulsion, and so on.
“We will enable people to discuss their innovations and test them in the most extreme environments around the world. Something that we hope will make for pretty entertaining viewing.
“Air pollution kills 30,000 people a year in the UK alone; we believe we can really help the health of our nation and multiple nations across the world by reducing the over-reliance on combustion engines.”
Net zero, and then some
Russell was also able to confirm that a major goal for the debut season of Extreme H is to be net zero. “Everything has been rethought to use less carbon. I think what’s so exciting is the whole way that we put on the race, every decision we make is to avoid unnecessary emissions.
“We’re actually hoping to go beyond the point of net zero, I call it carbon negative in terms of climate positive, what we’re going to do is add renewable energy back into the network.”
What particularly distinguishes Extreme H from its fellow motorsport series is its approach to gender equality; it is not only encouraged but seamlessly integrated into the structure of the series.
As of 2022, women made up just 2% of FIA-licensed racing drivers, so the fact 50% of Extreme H’s seats are allocated specifically for women represents an important opportunity that gives young female racing drivers a goal to work towards.
Russell reflected on this point. “It is all about making sure people feel that they belong, for us to have mixed drivers, it is like Wimbledon mixed doubles, a man and a woman working together simply becomes normalised.
“Whether they are at the bottom of the podium or the top of it, they can stand back-to-back, and that’s what allows us to change the dynamics of the sport.”
Bringing the action closer to home
Notably, Extreme E did not have ticketed spectators due to the nature of its extreme locations and sustainability concerns.
However, according to Russell, there is a possibility that Extreme H would consider letting fans into the heart of the action. “We think part of helping to break down the barriers around new technology is actually for people to see, to believe.
TV and other digital platforms are very good mechanisms, but there’s nothing like touching and seeing to make an impact.
“We’re looking at race locations that have proximity to big cities; so yes, it still will have the extreme nature, the extreme conditions, and so on, but it will be closer to big groups of people, which will facilitate the opportunity to have fans attend the event.
“We are particularly excited about the location of the debut race, which is still to be confirmed, but it looks incredibly futuristic.
“What we essentially want for the debut season of Extreme H is good, competitive racing with surrounding features such as sustainability and accessibility, making it a much richer dynamic experience.”
