Formula E – Beijing ePrix – Race: Di Grassi first winner after a terrible Prost/Heidfeld collision

Before the first Formula E race, a few updates: Sébastien Buemi will only participate in part of the race due to a gearbox issue with one of his cars; it might be the same for Jarno Trulli. Another update: Franck Montagny, initially qualified in 5th, will actually start 8th after a penalty for crossing the white line when exiting the pits. Ho-Pin Tung will start from the pits.

During the formation lap, Karun Chandhok struggles to get going but manages to. The same goes for the back row, comprising Stéphane Sarrazin and Jarno Trulli. After a long formation lap, the drivers take their positions…

And the start of the first Formula E race is given! Almost all the cars are off – Trulli is once again stuck – without too much trouble at the first turn, but things heat up between the Andretti cars in the next corner! Montagny tries the inside and assertively passes Pic who grazes the barrier. However, Bruno Senna, too presumptuous on a curb, must already retire. The safety car is deployed to move the Mahindra.

After 5 laps, Prost, Di Grassi, Abt, Heidfeld, Chandhok, Alguersuari, Montagny, Bird, Pic, and Piquet form the top 10 and the race is back on! It’s a battle between the Virgin and Andretti drivers: Montagny, in full attack mode, overtakes Alguersuari. Piquet, in 10th, is overtaken by Servia and Sato. In the pack, Buemi experiences a rear wing problem and has to pit to change it. At the front, Prost has a one second lead over Di Grassi and two over Abt: the leading trio breaks away.

In the 10th lap, Montagny passes Chandhok and takes 5th place. The Frenchman is on fire. Sato’s Aguri comes to a halt in the 11th lap. Up front, the Abts seem to slow down slightly while Prost is running out of battery and should stop. Heidfeld’s Venturi and Montagny’s Andretti are closing in on Daniel Abt. And the top six are heading into the pits: they are going to change cars. Bird takes the lead temporarily.

In the 14th lap, Prost takes the lead again, ahead of Heidfeld, Di Grassi, Montagny, and Abt. Buemi, who won’t be able to change cars, lets the pack pass; the Swiss driver could save his weekend with the fastest lap, which earns 2 points, but Sato ultimately snatches it from him. Behind, Chandhok overtakes Bird for sixth position.

5 laps to go, Prost has less than a second lead over Heidfeld, who is followed by the Di Grassi-Montagny duo. The four men are closing in on Michela Cerruti, penalized for not respecting the allotted time for the pit stop. Up front, Heidfeld is giving it his all to overtake Prost. Di Grassi and Montagny have been pushed back by a few seconds by the two men. Nicolas Prost starts the final lap in the lead, under the watchful eyes of his stressed father.

And rightly so: Heidfeld caught up with Prost, tried to overtake him during braking but the Frenchman cut across the German, causing him to lose control of his Venturi and crash violently into the safety barrier before flipping over. Lucas di Grassi eventually wins the race ahead of Franck Montagny and Sam Bird!