“LONDON, UK (June 28 2015): Nelson Piquet Jr. is the first Formula E champion.”
The Brazilian took the title at the end of an incredible day, with the excitement building as everyone was left holding their breath until the final lap and then some. Piquet drove in a very determined fashion from start to finish, making up a lot of places, thanks to a very aggressive strategy: his courage was rewarded with seventh place, enough for him to triumph in the title fight, which also means that, for the first time, a Chinese team, NEXTEV TCR, has produced the champion in an FIA series.
Apart from Piquet, the other hero of the moment was Englishman Sam Bird, who took his second win of the season in front of his home crowd. It was a well-deserved, if not unexpected victory, given that Bird actually took the chequered flag right behind Stephane Sarrazin, but on the slowing down lap, the Venturi driver was informed he had exceeded the permitted energy allowance. The inevitable penalty dropped him to 15th place. Bird’s great day also included setting the fastest race lap, which was worth not just the two bonus points in the classification, but also the Visa Fastest Lap Trophy in the very race in which Visa Europe was the title sponsor.
Even the cleverest of thriller screenwriters could not have come up with such an incident packed script as the one delivered at the 11th and final round of the season. A fantastic crowd flocked to Battersea Park: once again today, over 25,000 spectators packed the grandstands and the eVillage, bringing the total number of people through the gates over the duration of the event from Friday to Sunday, to around the 60,000 mark. They were treated to two equally thrilling scenarios. The first was the fight for the win, which apart from the two aforementioned drivers, also involved Belgium’s Jerome D’Ambrosio and France’s Loic Duval, who both finished on the podium. The result means that Dragon Racing has finished second in the teams’ championship, right behind newly crowned champions e.dams- Renault.
The second big story of the day was the title fight, with three contenders, Buemi, di Grassi and Piquet, who went on to cross the line in that order. However, only the last of them was smiling about his finishing position, because the six points that go with seventh place were enough to finish just a single point ahead of Buemi in the classification. The Swiss driver paid the price for a spin shortly after his pit stop: the mistake meant Bruno Senna got ahead of him to finish fourth, his best result of the season. The Brazilian proved to be an unshakeable opponent for the e.dams-Renault driver, who tried his best in the final few metres to take back the position that would have given him the title.
Lucas di Grassi would have needed a combination of favourable circumstance to take the title and, in the end, sixth place was not even enough to allow the Audi Sport ABT team to hang on to second place in the teams’ classification.
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The remaining points places were filled by the Mexican Duran (eighth), Englishman Turvey who finished ninth just as he did yesterday in his debut weekend in Formula E and Nicolas Prost, the only driver who has always finished in the points this season.
The day got off to a dramatic start, as the battle for the Julius Baer Pole Position was hit by rain, just as the second group of drivers were out on track. Therefore, for the first time ever this season, the special all-weather tyres supplied to all Formula E competitors by Michelin, were given a stern test. Paying the highest price for the drops of rain that hit that track was Piquet, who was in the third group and thus found himself in 16th place on the grid, behind fellow countryman di Grassi (11th) but more importantly, a long way off Sebastian Buemi, his closest title rival, who was sixth fastest. Quickest was Sarrazin who beat D’Ambrosio by a whisker with Duval third and Bird fourth.
It was a closely fought and tense race, which was very exciting for the spectators in the park and for those following the race on television and the Internet. It was a great end to the inaugural season of the first FIA championship for fully-electric single-seaters. “Not even in my wildest dreams could I have imagined the final would turn out like this,” commented Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag. “It was an incredible day and we achieved what we set out to do; putting on a great motorsport show in one of the most important cities in the world. We did it!”
The season ends with a prize-giving evening, which takes place tonight at the Natural History Museum in London, but thoughts are already turning to the future. On 10 July, at the FIA World Council meeting, the calendar for the second season will be published, while exactly one month later, Donington Park circuit will stage the first of three official test sessions.
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FIA Formula E Championship – Visa London ePrix (Rd 11) – Results:
1. Sam Bird, Virgin Racing, 45:48.792s (29 laps)
2. Jerome D’Ambrosio, Dragon Racing, +6.973s
3. Loic Duval, Dragon Racing, +9.430s
4. Bruno Senna, Mahindra Racing, +10.147s
5. Sebastien Buemi, e.dams-Renault, +10.689s
6. Lucas di Grassi, Audi Sport ABT, +11.204s
7. Nelson Piquet Jr, NEXTEV TCR, +11.561s
8. Salvador Duran, Amlin Aguri, +12.402s
9. Oliver Turvey, NEXTEV TCR, +14.142s
10. Nicolas Prost, e.dams-Renault, +14.535s
11. Daniel Abt, Audi Sport ABT, +23.170s
12. Simona de Silvestro, Andretti Formula E, +24.610s
13. Karun Chandhok, Mahindra Racing, +31.501s
14. Alex Fontana, Trulli, +38.423s
15. Stephane Sarrazin, Venturi, +48.680s
16. Jean-Eric Vergne, Andretti Formula E, 1 lap
17. Nick Heidfeld, Venturi, DNF
18. Fabio Leimer, Virgin Racing, DNF
19. Jarno Trulli, Trulli, DNF
20. Sakon Yamamoto, Amlin Aguri, DNF
Driver Standings (After Rd 11):
1. Nelson Piquet Jr 144pts
2. Sebastien Buemi 143pts
3. Lucas di Grassi 133pts
4. Jerome D’Ambrosio 113pts
5. Sam Bird 103pts
6 Nicolas Prost 88pts
7. Jean-Eric Vergne 70pts
8. Antonio Felix da Costa 51pts
9. Loic Duval 42pts
10. Bruno Senna 40pts
Team Standings (After Rd 11):
1. e.dams-Renault 232pts
2. Dragon Racing 171pts
3. Audi Sport ABT 165pts
4. NEXTEV TCR 152pts
5. Virgin Racing 133pts
6. Andretti Formula E 119pts
7. Amlin Aguri 66pts
8. Mahindra Racing 58pts
9. Venturi 53pts
10. Trulli 17pts
Notes to editors:
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About FIA Formula E Championship:
Formula E is a new FIA championship and the world’s first fully-electric racing series. It represents a vision for the future of the motor industry, serving as a framework for research and development around the electric vehicle, accelerating general interest in these cars and promoting sustainability. The first race took place in Beijing in September 2014, the first of 11 taking place in major cities around the world including London, Berlin and Moscow. For the inaugural season, 10 teams, each with two drivers, will go head-to-head creating a unique and exciting racing series designed to appeal to a new generation of motorsport fans.
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