Extreme E teams will field one female and one male driver for the first time in a new series next year.

The races aim to highlight climate change by being staged in five different locations around the world in an electric-SUV, and will do so while promoting ‘gender equality’.

One male and one female driver will take turns at the wheel in two-lap races. 

The format was inspired by mixed doubles tennis, according to its founder Alejandro Agag.

He said: “They (the teams) have freedom of strategy, they can put the man first or the woman first.”

And Jamie Chadwick, the winner of last year's new all-female W series, will be one of the drivers taking part, along with Katherine Legge who raced in Formula E in 2014.

Legge said: "Hearing the format was like waking up on Christmas morning. It is a giant step in the right direction for motorsport as a whole. I have been looking forward to something like this my entire racing career!

“Formula E and now Extreme E, are at forefront of breaking boundaries in technology, sustainability, and climate change, and now Extreme E will challenge perceptions with gender equality too.”

The five locations for the 2021 series are, Senegal, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Greenland and Brazil.