In a dramatic weekend of racing around the heart of London, Nelson Piquet Jr has been crowned the first ever Formula E champion.
The 100% electric series kicked off last year in Beijing and aimed to revolutionise not just the world of racing but automotive technology as a whole. Through the exciting events held in Cities across the world, it hoped to raise awarenesses and promote the benefits of battery-electric transport.
The Championship has now completed it’s first season, ending it in style over the weekend with hotly contested double-header around the streets of London.
As many as six drivers were in with a chance of winning the overall championship, combined with the narrow, in-city track, it poised to be an enthralling spectacle…and it didn’t disappoint.
After a disastrous qualifying session in which Piquet was out on track during the worst of the rain, Piquet lined-up 16th going into the final race, with both title rivals (Di Grassi and Buemi) ahead on the road.
Heading into the final race in Battersea Park, he was just five points ahead of Sebastien Buemi and looked to have put himself out of contention. However, an ultra-aggressive strategy executed with composure got him into seventh, ensuring he finished just a single point ahead of Buemi in the standings.
“This morning when it was raining in group three right when I was on track, I just thought things could not get any worse. On the positive side of things it took a bit of pressure away from me because I had nothing to lose anymore”, Piquet said, “I was at the back of the field, so let’s be aggressive and see what we can do. It worked out – we had an aggressive strategy.”
Agag, President of Formula E, said: “Even in my wildest dreams I couldn’t have come up with an ending like that. This has been an amazing day and this is what we wanted to do, to bring great racing to the cities and we made it today.
Sam Bird took the fifth and final race to complete his season, winning on home-soil.
“It’s been a mixed season for us at Virgin,” Bird admitted. “But what a way to finish, unbelievable, unbelievable.”
Watch the race highlights below:
It is safe to say that the Formula E Championship’s first season has been a resounding success. It has helped bring electric transport into the limelight and worked in tandem with government schemes to promote the adoption of EVs globally.
Season 2 will begin in September. It will be exciting to see which cities will house this electric phenomenon next time round.
Formula E
