Brazilian Luca di Grassi stole victory after race-leader Nicolas Prost and Nick Heidfeld touched on the final corner of the final lap of the first ever fully-electric single-seater race.

The race, the Beijing Evergrande Spring ePrix, was held on a temporary race track built around the city's iconic Olympic ‘Bird's Nest' Stadium.

According to the organisers; "some 40 million are believed to have watched the race worldwide on television with 75,000 attending on site and one billion social interactions recorded around the race".

Di Grassi stole victory after race-leader Nicolas Prost (e.dams-Renault) and Venturi's Nick Heidfeld touched on the final corner of the final lap in the battle for the lead, sending Heidfeld into a spectacular crash from which he walked away from unharmed.

Andretti driver Franck Montagny finished runner-up nearly three seconds adrift of Di Grassi with team-mate Daniel Abt crossing the line third, only to later have it taken away from him after failing short of the required 28kw power consumption usage. Virgin Racing's Sam Bird was promoted to claim the final place on the podium.

"Firstly, I'm happy Nick is ok and it shows how safe these cars are," said di Grassi. "I didn't see what happened myself but it's like a dream come true. I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time. The team did a great job all through practice and qualifying, yes we made a few mistakes but overall I'm extremely happy to be the first ever winner of a Formula E race."

"Two years ago the FIA had a vision of creating a championship which has close racing, entertainment and sustainability at its heart," said Alejandro Agag, CEO of Formula E. "This weekend, that vision became a reality. To see 20 fully-electric cars racing towards the first corner was a very special moment for me and for everyone involved. We truly believe this weekend marks a new era of motorsport that embraces sustainable mobility and we are incredibly grateful to all our investors, teams, drivers, partners, event operators, personnel, and of course the FIA, for helping us make this such a success. Of course, I'd also like to congratulate Lucas di Grassi on being the first Formula E winner.

"What is more important to us is that Formula E is the biggest digital race in the world with real racing. We're proud to announce that during this ePrix we've had a live worldwide television audience of 40 million, 75,000 people on site and more than one billion social interactions."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by Rob, 15/09/2014 16:26

"Hi Martin

Daniel Abt used too much energy, 28.2kW. The maximum allowed is 28kW.

Rob "

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2. Posted by Martin B, 15/09/2014 13:02

"Can someone explain to me why Daniel Abt was disqualified for not using enough energy, Or did I misunderstand that comment? I thought it was supposed to be a 'green' racing series..........
"

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3. Posted by cellobrian, 14/09/2014 16:01

"I didn't hate the racing. The incident on the last corner was pretty irresponsible on Prost's part. It will be interesting to see how this series progresses."

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4. Posted by bfairey, 14/09/2014 10:53

"The future for F1"

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Di Grassi wins maiden Formula E race

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