Nine-time Rally Champion Loeb Signs for Hamilton's Extreme E Team

Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - March 14, 2019 Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton during the press conference REUTERS/Edgar Su
Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - March 14, 2019 Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton during the press conference REUTERS/Edgar Su
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Nine-time Rally Champion Loeb Signs for Hamilton's Extreme E Team

Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - March 14, 2019 Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton during the press conference REUTERS/Edgar Su
Formula One F1 - Australian Grand Prix - Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne, Australia - March 14, 2019 Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton during the press conference REUTERS/Edgar Su

Lewis Hamilton on Friday revealed he had signed nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb for his Extreme E team, a motorsport series aimed at raising the profile of global environmental issues.

Also joining the seven-time Formula One world champion's team is Spain's Cristina Gutierrez, who in 2017 became the first woman to finish the Dakar Rally.

Loeb and Gutierrez will race for the X44 team in the inaugural Extreme E season which begins in 2021.

"I'm delighted to welcome Sebastien and Cristina to X44," said Hamilton.

"They are both incredible drivers and I'm looking forward to seeing what they're going to do out there at each race.

"Cristina is an upcoming talent with a great future ahead of her, and Sebastien is a driver I have admired for so many years so I'm so proud and excited to have them on board."

The championship, which features electric off-road SUV vehicles, will start in March.

It will be raced in five remote locations deemed to be already damaged or severely under threat of climate change from a range of issues including melting ice caps, deforestation and rising sea levels.

The five sites chosen include races in the Amazon region of Brazil and in the Arctic in Greenland.



Real Madrid Star Jude Bellingham Undergoes Shoulder Injury and Set to Miss Early Part of Season

 Jude Bellingham of Real Madrid looks on during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 semi-final match between Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid CF at MetLife Stadium on July 09, 2025 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Getty Images/AFP)
Jude Bellingham of Real Madrid looks on during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 semi-final match between Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid CF at MetLife Stadium on July 09, 2025 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Real Madrid Star Jude Bellingham Undergoes Shoulder Injury and Set to Miss Early Part of Season

 Jude Bellingham of Real Madrid looks on during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 semi-final match between Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid CF at MetLife Stadium on July 09, 2025 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Getty Images/AFP)
Jude Bellingham of Real Madrid looks on during the FIFA Club World Cup 2025 semi-final match between Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid CF at MetLife Stadium on July 09, 2025 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Getty Images/AFP)

Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham underwent shoulder surgery Wednesday and was expected to miss the start of the upcoming season.

The club said in a brief statement that the England international needed surgery "to address recurrent dislocation of his left shoulder." The procedure was "successful," it added.

"Bellingham will now undergo a period of rehabilitation, prior to returning to training and starting his recovery," the club's statement said.

Madrid did not say for how long Bellingham will be sidelined, but Spanish media reported he could be out two to three months.

Madrid opens its La Liga campaign on Aug. 19 against Osasuna. He is also expected to miss some Champions League games and likely England’s World Cup qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia in September.

The 22-year-old Bellingham had been nursing the shoulder injury since 2023 but was delaying the surgery to avoid missing time with Madrid and England. He had been able to play while wearing a brace.

Bellingham played at the Club World Cup in finishing his second season with Madrid after joining from Borussia Dortmund.