Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky and Cristina Gutiérrez reflect on their sensational Saudi season-opening battle

27 March 2024, London: In the opening bout of the Desert X Prix, Rosberg X Racing (RXR) and the NEOM McLaren Extreme E Team duelled throughout a brilliant contest, with the former taking the first win of 2024 by just 0.167s.

Reflecting on that incredible battle, RXR’s Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky and NEOM McLaren Extreme E’s Cristina Gutiérrez sat down with Extreme E to reflect on the Season 4 opener and just how it felt to be in the middle of a thrilling fight for victory.

Extreme E: The Round 1 Grand Final was a great way to begin Season 4. Did you go into that race expecting each other to be your biggest rival for the win?

Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky

“I think you could see in Round 1 that all of the teams were incredibly fast. Whenever I headed out on course I knew that everyone was going to do their best, so I also needed to do that and bring my A game. Of course, I knew that Mattias [Ekström] and Cristina were a very strong team but, for me, I was just focusing on heading out there and doing my best.”

Cristina Gutiérrez: “You can never predict what is going to happen in the race. Nowadays, Extreme E is at such a high level that any driver is difficult to overtake or defend against. I think that in this case it emerged like that, and it was a nice fight which Mikaela ended up winning.”

XE: You have both raced in the series since the very beginning. How well have you got to know each other’s racing style and ability behind the wheel?

MÅ-K: “We’ve been driving for three seasons now and she’s a really talented driver. Looking at all of the female drivers from Season 1 to now, there is so much talent out there meaning we have to bring our top game. When you are racing against someone you watch each other and their type of driving style, but I always try and focus on other elements such as looking at the heats from earlier on in the day and see which overtakes worked, which helps me try and plan for what might happen out on the track. However, anything can happen in Extreme E, so you need to be open-minded and creative.”

Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky and Cristina Gutiérrez reflect on their sensational Saudi season-opening battle out of the Desert X Prix, Rosberg X Racing (RXR) and the NEOM McLaren Extreme E Team duelled throughout a brilliant contest, with the former taking the first win of 2024 by just 0.167s. Reflecting on that incredible battle, RXR’s Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky and NEOM McLaren Extreme E’s Cristina Gutiérrez sat down with Extreme E to reflect on the Season 4 opener and just how it felt to be in the middle of a thrilling fight for victory. Extreme E: The Round 1 Grand Final was a great way to begin Season 4. Did you go into that race expecting each other to be your biggest rival for the win? Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky: “I think you could see in Round 1 that all of the teams were incredibly fast. Whenever I headed out on course I knew that everyone was going to do their best, so I also needed to do that and bring my A game. Of course, I knew that Mattias [Ekström] and Cristina were a very strong team but, for me, I was just focusing on heading out there and doing my best.” Cristina Gutiérrez: “You can never predict what is going to happen in the race. Nowadays, Extreme E is at such a high level that any driver is difficult to overtake or defend against. I think that in this case it emerged like that, and it was a nice fight which Mikaela ended up winning.”

XE: You have both raced in the series since the very beginning. How well have you got to know each other’s racing style and ability behind the wheel? MÅ-K: “We’ve been driving for three seasons now and she’s a really talented driver. Looking at all of the female drivers from Season 1 to now, there is so much talent out there meaning we have to bring our top game. When you are racing against someone you watch each other and their type of driving style, but I always try and focus on other elements such as looking at the heats from earlier on in the day and see which overtakes worked, which helps me try and plan for what might happen out on the track. However, anything can happen in Extreme E, so you need to be open-minded and creative.” CG: “As I say, every driver on the Extreme E grid is strong. Mikaela and I know each other well because we both started in the series from the beginning. She comes from a discipline that is very different from mine; she is more used to wheel-to-wheel racing and I am more used to off-road. Today, Mikaela is one of the best drivers on the Extreme E grid.” XE: Mikaela, when you set off from the Switch Zone in first place, were you on the defensive from Cristina behind you or were you pushing your ODYSSEY 21 to the limit to increase the gap as the leader?

MÅ-K: “Johan [Kristoffersson] was leading heading into the Switch Zone and when I headed out I knew Cristina was going to be incredibly fast, but I tried to focus on my lines. However, she was really close behind me. I did some defensive moves, which led to me not having the optimal line and speed, so I was battling between playing it safe and not making too many mistakes.

“I decided to be defensive in the places where she was really close. There was quite a lot of information from the engineering side who gave me a heads up on where she was, plus I was looking in the mirrors, but I opted not to take any big risks.” XE: Cristina, your teammate’s start was incredible, using an extra wide line into Turn 1 to set up the undercut heading into the next corner to lead the race. What is it like to work with him?

CG: “It is great to share a team with such a great driver, in this case Mattias. He is a person who I will always thank for being so open to sharing things with me that he has learnt throughout his life. I will always thank him for making me understand and learn more about motorsport - and especially in wheel-to-wheel racing because I have never had the opportunity to learn from someone with as much experience in this discipline as him.”

XE: We saw some great overtakes from both of you in the Grand Final. How difficult was it to execute those on the Desert X Prix course?
MÅ-K: “It was really great racing in Round 1, for sure. Johan pulled off a really nice overtake on Mattias and Cristina made that pass on me in the closing stages. I would say in Round 1 it was easier to follow the cars in front as the visibility and dust made things harder for Round 2.”

CG: “It is always difficult to overtake in Extreme E because you have to risk many things - there is dust, holes and in the end it is not a course where the conditions are always the same. Every time you go through a corner the feeling is different and you have to adapt every lap. I think that the Cristina who started in Extreme E is different to the Cristina racing right now and I am still trying to understand, learn and read the discipline to give the best of myself.”

XE: Mikaela, you managed to keep your cool when Cristina got ahead of you on the last lap. What was going through your head as you pushed to regain the lead? MÅ-K: “I was caught a little bit by surprise when she overtook me and I knew I would only have one chance to take the position back. I was really focusing on that exit from Waypoint (WP) 13, I knew I had to line up the car perfectly in to WP14 and out of WP15 then get a good run to WP17. I saw that she had a little bit of a wiggle, so I thought if I brake late, and position myself correctly, I can overtake her. I was so glad I did!”

XE: Cristina, you crossed the line in second-place just 0.1 seconds behind at the finish. How did you feel after the Grand Final? CG: “I think it was a beautiful race and I think we both felt like winners of that race; we were pleased to see people so excited. In the end, 0.1 seconds is a very small margin and I think what is worth more is seeing two women at the front fighting to win the race. I felt very fast, and I was preparing to overtake during my two laps, however Mikaela is one of the drivers who defends well and attacks the best.

“At the end of the race, we took stock with the team of how we can improve and next time we will try not to make mistakes. In the end it was my first race together with NEOM McLaren and there are always things that we can improve, but we were very happy to find ourselves so competitive from the first race.”

XE: Finally, Mikaela as defending champions you started this season with a win. How confident are you heading into the next rounds with so many other teams looking capable of fighting for wins and podiums?

MÅ-K: “It was really nice to start the season with a win. We got some good points after the first X Prix of the campaign. It was extremely tight last year with so many teams heading into the last race being able to win. The competition looks equally high this year with so many great teams and drivers. It feels good to have this result, but we know we have to go out there and do the best we can each time in order to be strong against other teams as they are doing the same.”

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