The reasons behind McLaren's Extreme E entry in 2022

The Woking outfit will compete in electric, off-roading racing series for 2022 alongside its Formula 1 and IndyCar programmes.

Extreme E’s goal is to raise environmental issues for some aspects of climate change.

F1 champions Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg have their own teams in the series - Team X44 and Rosberg X Racing respectively.

The series has also focused on promoting women drivers with each team being forced to run one male and one female driver.

Speaking to select media, including Crash.net, Grain explained how McLaren is looking to be net carbon zero by 2030.

“For a company, it [sustainability] is incredibly important. 10 years ago we were the first team to be awarded the FIA’s carbon-neutral award and we have set ourselves a challenge of being net-zero by being 2030 so Extreme E plays an incredibly strong part in that objective,” he said.

Leena Gade is the team’s engineer and McLaren Racing’s first-ever female engineer.

Explaining what McLaren hopes to get out of Extreme E, she said: “I can’t really speak about the F1 side of things but in terms of the series itself, it’s pretty much driven around sustainability and that’s one of McLaren’s core marks.

“With the type of racing, with the technology that goes into the car itself, with the battery technology, all of that is very applicable to where McLaren stands at the moment with its sustainability goals.”

McLaren will field Rallycross champion Tanner Foust alongside Emma Gilmore.

Foust believes that moving towards a more sustainable stance is the only way motorsport can survive long-term.

“The fact that I race EV and I think that electric cars are our future, it doesn't mean I don't love the sound of a screaming engine,” he added.“ Motorsport served an amazing function for cars, proving back in the day that engines could be reliable, that cars can be safe, it pushed every envelope that made cars driving on the road what we know today and I think with EV, it has to be the case also.

“There are a lot of objections people have to buy an EV Car for example and technologies can be developed and those objectives can also be answered through motorsport and if motorsport is going to continue, which is an industry that I love and love being involved, it's going to need a responsible side to it, a more responsible side to it.

“Series like Extreme E and companies like McLaren, the way they are approaching this with gender neutrality and carbon neutrality is really the only way that all the things that  I love about motorsport continue and that's why I am involved.”

The 2022 Extreme E season gets underway in Neom, Saudi Arabia on February 19-20.