Lucas di Grassi wins Round 1 of Formula E Championship

he Formula E Championship finally kicked off in Beijing with Lucas di Grassi taking top honours after a spectacular race. Qualifying saw Nicolas Prost of e.dams-Renault take pole position for the first ever Formula E race. Audi Sport ABT’s di Grassi and Daniel Abt took the second and third spot on the grid respectively while Indian driver Karun Chandhok secured fourth.

Nicolas Prost of e.adams-Renault and Nick Heidfeld of Venturi were fighting it out for the top spot in the final laps of the race. As the duo approached the final corner, Heidfeld took the inside line to pass Prost who in an attempt to defend the lead moved left which inevitably lead to their wheels colliding. Meanwhile, di Grassi who was following the duo closely got enough time to make his way into the lead. Prost was handed a 10-place grid penalty for causing avoidable collision.

Frank Montagny of Andretti Autosport and Sam Bird of Virgin Racing secured second and third place respectively.

Indian Racer Karun Chandhok driving the Mahindra Racing car didn’t quite have the perfect start from his fourth place in qualifying and was passed by Heidfeld. But, Chandhok was then able to capitalise and stay close behind the front runners until an overheated battery lost a few seconds and two positions in the final lap of the race. Meanwhile, team-mate Bruno Senna was forced to retire from the race on the very first lap. The Brazilian made an extremely aggressive start to the race, but in the melee of the first few corners, was pushed onto the kerb damaging his front left suspension.

At the end of the first round, the Andretti Formula E team leads the championship board with 30 points, while Audi Sport ABT follows closely in second with 26 points. Mahindra Racing stands fifth with 10 points on the board. The next round of the FIA Formula E Championship will take place in Putrajaya, Malaysia on November 22.