McLaren will enter the Xtreme E, an all-electric off-road championship, in 2022 as it expands its McLaren Racing brand into the new series.
McLaren will join the race with teams owned by seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton & 2016 world champion Nico Rosberg.
The series aims to raise awareness of environmental issues by driving all-electric off-road vehicles in the parts of the world affected by climate change.
The Xtreme E is also unique in the world of professional motorsport in that it requires one male & one female driver per team by regulation.
The championship is two races into its five-race debut season, with McLaren due to join at the start of the second season next year.
"Since the time the Xtreme E was announced, we've been following the progress of the series closely," said McLaren CEO Zack Brown.
“Our attention was immediately drawn by the innovative format of this motorsport platform, particularly the ability it gives us to accelerate & promote our own broad sustainability agenda, which seeks to decarbonise, waste reduction, diversity & equality. share similar preferences.
“At the same time, it will enable us to reach a new audience with an innovative race format, connect with a new generation of fans through content served across different channels ^ partner with a purpose-based competition platform aligned with Provide to & share in a positive, powerful narrative."
McLaren's entry into the Xtreme E came as a surprise as it had publicly talked about entries in the World Endurance Championship & the all-electric single seater series Formula E, but did not mention the Xtreme E as an option. was.
"All the different racing series have different features, different reasons & arguments as to why they may or may not fit within the McLaren racing portfolio," Brown explained.
"We haven't made any decisions on those other series yet.
"Why Extreme E? I believe the franchise will sell out quickly, whereas when you get into something like WEC, there's no pressure to be one of the X teams, so we've got to see that season's success." We didn't have the luxury of waiting maybe another six months.
“And the importance of sustainability & diversity to McLaren Racing, & to be able to accelerate that program, & the demand from our partners, & our willingness to understand & learn from the technologies.
"So it was for all those reasons that we made the decision to enter Extreme E while we continue to evaluate these other racing opportunities."
Asked specifically about the Formula E entry, Brown said: "We haven't made a final decision on this yet.
“Our option runs through the end of the year, so we want to get this announcement out there & see what activity it creates with our fans in the market.
"WEC & Formula E are under review & we anticipate there will be some direction on both of them later in the year."
Brown made it clear that the Extreme E entry & McLaren's current involvement in IndyCar would be no different from rebuilding the Formula One team, which in recent years has recovered from the back of the grid to midfield.
He also emphasized that the team's financial issues, which resulted in a lease-back agreement on its factory, a £150 million loan from the national bank of Bahrain & the sale of a significant minority shareholding to American investors last year, were behind the team.
"One hundred percent our financial position at McLaren is extremely strong," Brown said. "Of course, we have to be very diligent & get a return on investment anywhere, no matter what money we spend, whether it's entering a new race series or financing a new wind tunnel.
"But yes, we are very healthy financially, & our competition in F1 is allowing us to look at IndyCar & allow us to enter Extreme E, because what we will never do is stop with our Formula One efforts. distracted or distracted.
"IndyCar, Extreme E are all complementary entries & help accelerate our Formula One effort."
Brown said no decision had yet been made on McLaren's Extreme E driver line-up.
"We haven't made a decision yet. But what we're going to do, like in all of our racing, is to go for the two best drivers we can get our hands on."