Hedda Hosås (born 2 March 2001) is a Norwegian

rallycross Rallycross is a form of sprint style motorsport held on a mixed-surface circuit (racing), racing circuit using modified production touring automobile, cars or prototype racing cars. It began in the 1960s as a cross between rallying and autocross ...

driver who currently serves as the development driver for the future

Extreme H Extreme E was an FIA-sanctioned international off-road racing series that used spec silhouette electric SUVs to race in remote parts of the world, such as the Saudi Arabian desert or the Arctic. All racing locations were chosen to raise awaren ...

series. She most recently competed for

McLaren McLaren Racing Limited ( ) is a British auto racing, motor racing team based at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England. The team is a subsidiary of the McLaren Group, which owns a majority of the team. McLaren is best known a ...

in the

2023 Extreme E season The 2023 Extreme E Championship was the third season of the Extreme E electric off-road racing series. Calendar On 16 November 2022, the provisional 2023 season calendar was announced. Saudi Arabia, Sardinia and Chile returned from the previous ...

Biography

Early career

Having initially started in

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

at the age of 15, Hosås got into car racing a year later when her dad introduced her to it. She ended up preferring the latter, but difficulties with budget and facilities led to her working as a mechanic to fund her career and travelling large distances only to train. With help from local sponsors and the mentorship of

FIA World Rallycross Championship The FIA World Rallycross Championship (official abbreviation is World RX) is a rallycross series organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile, FIA in conjunction with series promoter Rallycross Promoter GmbH (founded by Red Bull G ...

driver Ulrik Linnemann, she went to Denmark to race and test, where she caught the eye of

Veloce Racing Veloce Racing is a British motorsport team founded by Jean-Éric Vergne, Adrian Newey and Rupert Svendsen-Cook that will compete in the all-hydrogen off-road racing championship Extreme H. Veloce formerly competed in the all-female single-seate ...

team manager Ian Davies, who signed her as the team's reserve driver for the

2021 Extreme E Championship The 2021 Extreme E Championship was the inaugural season of the Extreme E electric off-road racing series. It started on 3 April with the Desert X-Prix in Saudi Arabia. Calendar A provisional race schedule was announced on 17 December 2019, wh ...

Extreme E

Hosås was later named as the championship's reserve driver for the

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

season-opening Desert X-Prix after usual reserve Tamara Molinaro was drafted in to race for Xite Energy Racing. Hosås herself ended up making her debut in the same event as a replacement for Veloce's Christine GZ, who injured herself in Q1. Partnering South African Lance Woolridge, they finished fourth in the crazy race and placed 10th overall. In July she was called up by

Jenson Button Jenson Alexander Lyons Button (born 19 January 1980) is a British racing driver, who competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Jota. Button competed in Formula One from to , and won the World Drivers' Championship in with Brawn; ...

's JBXE team for the following round in

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

, making up the youngest lineup in the grid with Kevin Hansen. The pair made it through to the final and later picked up a podium on their first race together, with third place at the Island X-Prix after a penalty for on-track winners Rosberg X Racing. Hosås would see out the season with JBXE, first alongside Hansen and later with Fraser McConnell, and eventually finished 12th in the drivers' championship. Hosås remained with JBXE for the 2023 season, being paired with

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

race winner

Heikki Kovalainen Heikki Johannes Kovalainen (; born 19 October 1981) is a Finnish auto racing, racing and rally driver, who competed in Formula One from to . Kovalainen won the 2008 Hungarian Grand Prix with McLaren. In sportscar racing, Kovalainen won Super GT ...

and later countryman

Andreas Bakkerud Andreas Bakkerud (born 10 October 1991) is a rallycross driver from Bergen, Norway. He has competed in the FIA Rallycross Supercar class since 2013 in both Euro RX and World RX, Nitro Rallycross since 2021, and Extreme E since 2023. He became Euro ...

. Having secured two best finishes of fifth in the first part of the season, she moved to McLaren XE after the autumn break to replace Emma Gilmour, who was recovering from a crash in Sardinia. At her debut race in

Antofagasta Antofagasta () is a port city in northern Chile, about north of Santiago. It is the capital of Antofagasta Province and Antofagasta Region. According to the 2015 census, the city has a population of 402,669. Once claimed by Bolivia follo ...

, Hosås and teammate

Tanner Foust Tanner Lee Foust (born June 13, 1973) is an American professional racing driver, stunt driver, and television host. He competes in rally, drift, ice racing, time attack, hill climb and rallycross with multiple podium placements, national cham ...

made the final on both days and achieved McLaren's first ever qualifying heat win in the series.

Extreme H

Hosås was chosen as the development driver for

, the hydrogen-powered off-road series set to replace Extreme E in 2025. She performed a test run with the new car,

Spark Racing Technology Spark Racing Technology (SRT) is a motorsport manufacturer specialized in the development and engineering of high-performance electric vehicles and modules. The company was founded by Frédéric Vasseur to become the sole chassis supplier for the ...

's Pioneer 25, during the 2024 Hydro X-Prix in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Racing record

Complete Extreme E results

( key)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hosas, Hedda Living people 2001 births Sportspeople from Voss Norwegian rally drivers Extreme E drivers Female rally drivers Norwegian female racing drivers McLaren Racing drivers 21st-century Norwegian sportswomen