Formula E: Nelson Piquet Jr wins first title as Briton Bird wins final race
Brazilian driver Nelson Piquet Jr was crowned Formula E’s first ever world champion as British driver Sam Bird won a dramatic final race of the season in London yesterday.
Piquet finished seventh in front of a 60,000 crowd at Battersea Park to narrowly claim victory by just one point from title rival Sebastien Buemi, who finished fifth.
“Today was such a hectic race,” said Piquet, son of the three-time Formula One champion of the same name.
“I tried to avoid asking my team any questions and I didn’t know that I had won until I crossed the line.”
Bird, of Sir Richard Barnson’s Virgin Racing team, crossed the line second but was handed the victory after Belgian driver Stephane Sarrazin was penalised for using too much power.
“To end the season on top of the podium in front of a home crowd is incredible,” said Bird.
“I managed to conserve the car’s energy to enable a lap longer than Stephane before the second stint. That turned the race for me.”
Buemi’s e.dams-Renault team won the inaugural constructors’ title by 61 points from Dragon Racing, with Piquet’s Chinese team Nextev in fourth place.
Formula E is the first single-seater world championship for fully electric cars.
The two- stage London ePrix was the first major motorsport race in the capital for more than 40 years.