Junior single-seater racing powerhouse ART Grand Prix has become the latest established racing team to sign up for the inaugural season of Extreme E in 2021, doing so as a partner of Veloce Racing.
ART as an entity has been competing in the rungs below Formula 1 since 2005, having previously run as ASM Formule 3 before former World Rally Championship co-driver and team director Jean Todt’s son Nicolas came on board as an owner, and won titles at the level immediately under F1 with future household names and world champions Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.
Todt sold his stake in ART GP in late 2018, while founding team principal Frédéric Vasseur moved on to be a team principal in F1, having not been able to achieve that with the squad of his own creation.
The French outfit has diversified over the last decade, entering the DTM touring car series, GT and prototype sportscars, and now off-road competition.
“This is a really exciting partnership for ART. We have developed our reputation in the world of single seater [and] formula racing and we are multiple winners; but this is a fantastic new challenge for us in an incredibly innovative series, with a very driven group of people at Veloce Racing,” said ART GP’s current team manager Sébastien Philippe.
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“It is great to be involved in Extreme E and Veloce Racing from the very start, and I’m sure it will be an exciting journey.
“The enthusiasm for the relationship is shared in equal measure at Veloce Racing and voiced by Adrian Newey, who knows a little about what it takes to win.”
Newey, a famed car designer in F1, is the ‘lead visionary’ for Veloce’s XE program, and also commented on the new alliance with ART GP.
“This is a very positive partnership, Extreme E is a new series operating in very difficult areas of the world with new cars, technology and a multitude of challenges,” he said.
“To work with an extremely successful and solid ‘pair of hands’ like ART Grand Prix – who have competed and won in so many series’ as well as helped develop some of the world’s best drivers and engineers – gives Veloce Racing a great head start.
“The likes of HWA, Team Techeetah and [Lewis Hamilton’s] X44 highlight the ultra-competitiveness of the Extreme E line-up, but Veloce Racing is more than ready for the challenge, with this latest partnership a part of its strategy for overall success.”
