The line between digital content creation and professional motorsport temporarily blurred this afternoon in Jeddah, as Formula E’s EVO Sessions returned for a dramatic second season.
In the event, TheBurntChip (Josh Larkin) claimed the crown, narrowly edging out Sidemen star Behzinga (Ethan Payne). However, the day was marked by high drama as Izzy Hammond, the daughter of The Grand Tour and Top Gear star Richard Hammond, walked away from a heavy collision with the barriers.
Following a successful debut in Miami last year, Formula E returned with a bigger, faster iteration of EVO Sessions. The event saw two creator-led teams, Team Señor Frogs, led by Calfreezy, and Team QuickStars, led by Vikkstar, go head-to-head.
This saw the celebrity representatives put into the Formula E Gen3 Evo car, the same car used by the professional racers.
The competition followed Formula E’s knockout qualifying structure, culminating in a tense final between TheBurntChip in a Jaguar TCS Racing Car, and Behzinga driving a DS Penske.
While Behzinga put in a good lap, it was Chip who held his nerve. Having spent weeks analyzing braking zones and studying telemetry from Jaguar driver Mitch Evans, Larkin crossed the line with a winning time of 1:28.212, beating Payne by just over four tenths of a second.
I have been working very hard for it. It does mean a lot. Honestly, I put so many hours watching Mitch [Evans] and looking at videos of braking zones on my phone. I think it paid off in the end.
Josh Larkin (TheBurntChip)
The most heart-stopping moment of the broadcast occurred during the Duels. Izzy Hammond, driving for the Lola team, lost control heading into Turn 13.
Despite a strong start to her lap, Hammond was unable to slow the car sufficiently, resulting in a significant impact with the wall. The session was red-flagged, and thankfully, Hammond was cleared by medical staff and was able to joke about the incident, referencing her father Richard Hammond’s history of high-speed accidents.
My first thought was, ‘everyone’s watching, my dad is watching, he’s going to cry or something. Can someone just tell him that I’m okay!‘ It wasn’t a small crash. If you’re going to crash, you’ve got to really crash… Richard did it, now I’ve done it. So now we’re even!
Izzy Hammond
She was not the only driver to struggle with the Jeddah street circuit. TikTok superstar Khaby Lame went off during his lap after appearing to forget the corner was coming up, while JUCA collided with the wall, forcing his retirement from the competition.
The EVO sessions continue to be a pivotal part of Formula E’s strategy to engage younger demographics. By putting the world’s biggest creators, with a combined reach of hundreds of millions, into the cockpit of the world’s fastest accelerating single-seater race car, the series is redefining how motorsport is consumed.
Images in this article are kindly provided by Formula E.
