Nelson Piquet Jr has claimed the inaugural FIA Formula E Championship after coming through a hectic London finale won by Britain’s Sam Bird.
The China Racing driver was forced to win it the hard way after a disappointing qualifying saw him battle from 16th to finish seventh, which was enough to clinch the title by a point from Sebastien Buemi.
Piquet Jr only moved into a championship winning position in the final laps when he climbed to eighth, two spots behind Buemi, with passes on team-mate Oliver Turvey and Salvador Duran.
The Brazilian was aided by a spin from Buemi shortly after his mandatory pit stop, which ultimately proved vital in securing title, as the Swiss driver dropped down the order.
“The team did an amazing job, they worked really hard, once we got our first win in Long Beach we realised we had a chance of winning the championship. It’s been incredible,” said Piquet.
“This has opened my career again and I was able to show my potential.
Secure your spot today.
“At China Racing we showed that if you put a good group of guys together you are able to fight against manufacturers, you just need to be smart.”
While Piquet Jr took the championship, the final race of the maiden Formula E season provided plenty of action as Bird took the spoils from Jerome D’Ambrosio and Loic Duval.
Venturi’s Stephane Sarrazin took the chequered flag on the road but on his slow down lap he was informed that he had exceeded his energy allocation.
The Frenchman was handed a 49 second penalty which gifted Virgin Racing’s Bird the victory on home soil.
Bird produced an impressive drive in the second half of the race having held fourth spot up until the pit stops.
The former GP2 ace managed to pass Duval for second in the closing stages before applying pressure on Sarrazin.
Sarrazin’s penalty dropped him to 15th position, promoting D’Ambrosio to second with Duval in third.
Bruno Senna finished fourth for Mahindra ahead of Buemi, di Grassi and Piquet Jr.
FIA Formula E Championship London Gallery
Result: FIA Formula E Championship Race 11, London, Battersea Park
| Position | Driver | Team | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sam Bird | Virgin Racing | 29 Laps |
| 2 | Jerome D’Ambrosio | Dragon Racing | +6.973s |
| 3 | Loic Duval | Dragon Racing | +9.430s |
| 4 | Bruno Senna | Mahindra | +10.147s |
| 5 | Sebastien Buemi | e.dams | +10.689s |
| 6 | Lucas di Grassi | Abt | +11.204s |
| 7 | Nelson Piquet Jr. | China Racing | +11.561s |
| 8 | Salvador Duran | Amlin Aguri | +12.402s |
| 9 | Oliver Turvey | China Racing | +14.142s |
| 10 | Nicolas Prost | e.dams | +14.535s |
| 11 | Daniel Abt | Abt | +23.170s |
| 12 | Simona de Silvestro | Andretti Autosport | +24.610s |
| 13 | Karun Chandhok | Mahindra | +31.501s |
| 14 | Alex Fontana | Trulli GP | +38.423s |
| 15 | Stephane Sarrazin | Venturi | +48.680s |
| 16 | Jean-Eric Vergne | Andretti Autosport | +1 Lap |
| DNF | Nick Heidfeld | Venturi | Retirement |
| DNF | Fabio Leimer | Virgin Racing | Retirement |
| DNF | Jarno Trulli | Trulli GP | Retirement |
| DNF | Sakon Yamamoto | Aguri | Retirement |
Championship Standings
| Position | Driver | Points |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nelson Piquet Jr. | 144 |
| 2 | Sebastien Buemi | 143 |
| 3 | Lucas di Grassi | 133 |
| 4 | Jerome D’Ambrosio | 113 |
| 5 | Sam Bird | 103 |
| 6 | Nicolas Prost | 88 |
| 7 | Jean-Eric Vergne | 70 |
| 8 | Antonio Felix da Costa | 51 |
| 9 | Loic Duval | 42 |
| 10 | Bruno Senna | 40 |
| 11 | Daniel Abt | 32 |
| 12 | Nick Heidfeld | 31 |
| 13 | Jaime Alguersuari | 30 |
| 14 | Stephane Sarrazin | 22 |
| 15 | Scott Speed | 18 |
| 16 | Franck Montagny | 18 |
| 17 | Karun Chandhok | 18 |
| 18 | Charles Pic | 16 |
| 19 | Oriol Servia | 16 |
| 20 | Jarno Trulli | 15 |
| 21 | Salvador Duran | 13 |
| 22 | Oliver Turvey | 4 |
| 23 | Vitantonio Liuzzi | 2 |
| 24 | Takuma Sato | 2 |
| 25 | Justin Wilson | 1 |
| 26 | Ho-Pin Tung | 0 |
| 27 | Antonio Garcia | 0 |
| 28 | Simona de Silvestro | 0 |
| 29 | Michela Cerruti | 0 |
| 30 | Marco Andretti | 0 |
| 31 | Matthew Brabham | 0 |
| 32 | Alex Fontana | 0 |
| 33 | Katherine Legge | 0 |
| 34 | Fabio Leimer | 0 |
| 35 | Sakon Yamamoto | 0 |
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