In 2022, Rosberg X Racing was easily the top team as the defending Extreme E champion with two wins, but penalties and errors doomed their title defence. Unfortunately for Johan Kristoffersson and Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky, matters did not improve as the 2023 season began when they received a 136-second time penalty in the Grand Final of the first Desert X Prix, relegating them to third.
Veloce Racing, who led Friday practice, capitalised on the penalty to score their first victory in just their second race with Kevin Hansen and Molly Taylor. For Hansen, the win comes as redemption after fracturing his vertebrae during the 2022 Desert X Prix’s Crazy Race.
“To come back to Saudi Arabia and get my first Extreme E win with this new team, with Molly, and in the country that I had such a career changing accident, this is such a highlight,” said Hansen.
“Both of us believe so much in what the engineers and mechanics are doing, so we feel so safe when we get in the car. We believe in what we are going to drive and I think that is also giving some results.”
Although the Rosbergs held the advantage for much of the Grand Final, Åhlin-Kottulinsky sped in a slow area and received the penalty of over two minutes to knock RXR down to third. ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team, with new driver Mattias Ekström and the returning Laia Sanz, finished runner-up. Chip Ganassi Racing and reigning champion X44 retired with mechanical problems.
The race day was the first to ditch the single-car qualifying format in favour of two rounds of heat races, as well as a Redemption Race for the five teams that did not make the Grand Final. The latter ended up seeing a massive wreck when Nasser Al-Attiyah flipped and collided with McLaren’s Tanner Foust, resulting in substantial front damage to the former’s ABT CUPRA machine. The team was permitted to use Extreme E’s spare car primarily delegated for Continental’s tyre tests for Sunday, albeit with a thirty-second penalty in their first heat.
Grand Final results
| Finish | Number | Team | Total Time | Driver #1 | Driver #2 |
| 1 | 5 | Veloce Racing | 11:56.291 | Kevin Hansen | Molly Taylor |
| 2 | 55 | ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team | 12:13.000 | Mattias Ekström | Laia Sanz |
| 3 | 6 | Rosberg X Racing | 14:04.332* | Johan Kristoffersson | Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky |
| 4 | 44 | X44 Vida Carbon Racing | DNF | Fraser McConnell | Cristina Gutiérrez |
| 5 | 99 | GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing | DNF | RJ Anderson | Amanda Sorensen |
Redemption Race results
| Finish | Number | Team | Total Time | Driver #1 | Driver #2 |
| 1 | 58 | NEOM McLaren XE | 28:55.292 | Tanner Foust | Emma Gilmour |
| 2 | 8 | Carl Cox Motorsport | 29:00.844 | Timo Scheider | Christine GZ |
| 3 | 22 | JBXE | DNF | Heikki Kovalainen | Hedda Hosås |
| 4 | 125 | ABT CUPRA XE | DNF | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Klara Andersson |
| 5 | 23 | Andretti ALTAWKILAT Extreme E | DNF | Timmy Hansen | Catie Munnings |
Qualifying results
Round #1
Heat #1
| Finish | Number | Team | Total Time | Driver #1 | Driver #2 |
| 1 | 99 | GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing | 11:32.914 | RJ Anderson | Amanda Sorensen |
| 2 | 55 | ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team | 11:36.298 | Mattias Ekström | Laia Sanz |
| 3 | 8 | Carl Cox Motorsport | 11:51.577 | Timo Scheider | Christine GZ |
| 4 | 125 | ABT CUPRA XE | 13:42.040* | Nasser Al-Attiyah | Klara Andersson |
| 5 | 23 | Andretti ALTAWKILAT Extreme E | DNF | Timmy Hansen | Catie Munnings |
Heat #2
| Finish | Number | Team | Total Time | Driver #1 | Driver #2 |
| 1 | 44 | X44 Vida Carbon Racing | 11:32.993 | Fraser McConnell | Cristina Gutiérrez |
| 2 | 5 | Veloce Racing | 11:41.727 | Kevin Hansen | Molly Taylor |
| 3 | 22 | JBXE | 11:52.093 | Heikki Kovalainen | Hedda Hosås |
| 4 | 6 | Rosberg X Racing | 11:59.973 | Johan Kristoffersson | Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky |
| 5 | 58 | NEOM McLaren XE | 12:01.721* | Tanner Foust | Emma Gilmour |
Round #2
Heat #1
| Finish | Number | Team | Total Time | Driver #1 | Lap Time |
| 1 | 5 | Veloce Racing | 11:38.038 | Molly Taylor | Kevin Hansen |
| 2 | 6 | Rosberg X Racing | 11:46.899 | Mikaela Åhlin-Kottulinsky | Johan Kristoffersson |
| 3 | 99 | GMC Hummer EV Chip Ganassi Racing | 11:52.462 | Amanda Sorensen | RJ Anderson |
| 4 | 23 | Andretti ALTAWKILAT Extreme E | 12:03.435 | Catie Munnings | Timmy Hansen |
| 5 | 8 | Carl Cox Motorsport | 11:50.867* | Christine GZ | Timo Scheider |
Heat #2
| Finish | Number | Team | Total Time | Driver #1 | Driver #2 |
| 1 | 55 | ACCIONA | Sainz XE Team | 11:29.779 | Laia Sanz | Mattias Ekström |
| 2 | 44 | X44 Vida Carbon Racing | 11:35.123 | Cristina Gutiérrez | Fraser McConnell |
| 3 | 58 | NEOM McLaren XE | 11:41.126 | Emma Gilmour | Tanner Foust |
| 4 | 125 | ABT CUPRA XE | 11:48.122 | Klara Andersson | Nasser Al-Attiyah |
| 5 | 22 | JBXE | 11:55.303 | Hedda Hosås | Heikki Kovalainen |
