McConnell focused on Extreme E adventure

While Jamaica Rallycross driver Fraser McConnell acknowledged the honour of getting a seat in Formula One, his main focus is only on his growth in the rallycross format in a season that has seen him achieve success and take advantage of other opportunities.

After a Nitro Rallycross season which saw him finish third in the driver’s championship, he has already jumped to his next endeavour as a member of the X44 Vida Carbon Racing, the team that is owned by seven-time Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton in the Extreme E electric off-road racing series.

McConnell will have an opportunity to meet Hamilton himself this weekend as he left yesterday for the Miami Grand Prix. While he said that it would be the opportunity of a lifetime to one day have a Formula One seat, his current focus has been on the new Extreme E off-road series which has his full attention.

“Anybody would take a Formula One opportunity if it was presented to them. (But) I am focusing on one thing at a time and right now that focus is on doing well with the team and taking one race at a time,” McConnell told The Gleaner.

The team of McConnell and Spaniard Cristina Gutierrez is currently in fourth place in the table with 23 points after two events in the series. While it has been an adjustment, McConnell relished the value that the team saw in him joining the reigning champions.

“X44 and Lewis’ mission is all about opportunity and being the first one from the Caribbean to do what I am doing, they see that and value that. They gave me the opportunity to make it to the big leagues,” McConnell said. “I’m still very new in my career and very inexperienced to what these other guys are relative to them. I’m putting everything into what I know and more to make sure I am attracting good results for them.”

For McConnell, while he is on a team keen to defend their title, he is only concerned about performing to his capabilities in yet another step in his racing career.

“My expectations for myself are always to go there and do what I know how to do best without making any mistakes. Once I stick to the game plan and execute properly and trust my instincts, I know it will put me in a good position. Those are the expectations that I put on myself,” McConnell said.

McConnell will next be in action on May 13, in the third and fourth rounds of the series at the Hydro X-Prix in Scotland.

daniel.wheeler@gleanerjm.com