2014 Beijing ePrix

2014 Beijing ePrix
Race 1 of 11 of the 2014–15 Formula E season
Layout of the Beijing Olympic Green Circuit
Race details
Date	13 September 2014
Official name	2014 FIA Formula E Evergrande Spring Beijing ePrix
Location	Beijing Olympic Green Circuit, Chaoyang District, Beijing, China
Course	Street circuit
Course length	3.44 km (2.14 mi)
Distance	25 laps, 86.0 km (53.5 mi)
Pole position
Driver	Nicolas Prost	e.dams-Renault
Time	1:42.200
Fastest lap
Driver	Takuma Sato	Amlin Aguri
Time	1:45.101 on lap 21
Podium
First	Lucas di Grassi	Audi Sport ABT
Second	Franck Montagny	Andretti
Third	Sam Bird	Virgin Racing
Lap leaders

The 2014 Beijing ePrix, formally the 2014 FIA Formula E Evergrande Spring Beijing ePrix, was a Formula E motor race that was held on 13 September 2014 at the Beijing Olympic Green Circuit in Beijing, China. It was the first Championship race of the single-seater, electrically powered racing car series' inaugural season.^[1] The race was won by Lucas di Grassi for the Audi Sport ABT team, ahead of Franck Montagny and Sam Bird.^[2]

Report[]

Race[]

Nicolas Prost claimed pole position for the race for the e.dams-Renault team^[3] and, with the exception of one lap during the pit stops, led the race up until the final corner. That was the moment when Nick Heidfeld had closed the gap to Prost and made an overtaking manoeuvre. Prost hit Heidfeld while they were side to side, sending the German driver into a spin. Heidfeld's car then hit the kerb sideways, and flipped into the barrier. The collision forced both drivers to retire from the race, and Lucas di Grassi went through to claim victory.^[2] Montagny finished second, while Daniel Abt was third on track, but was penalised 57 seconds for exceeding "the maximum permitted electrical power during the race," relegating him to tenth position, which promoted Bird to the final place on the podium.^[4] Jaime Alguersuari and Katherine Legge also received 57-second penalties: Alguersuari for the same transgression, and Legge for a pit violation.

Despite his retirement, Prost collected three championship points for his pole position, and Takuma Sato, who was also unable to complete the race, gained two points for recording the fastest lap of the race.^[5] During the race, three drivers were able to gain benefit from a "fan boost" which gave them an extra 30 kilowatts of power for two five-second stints. The drivers voted to receive this were Bruno Senna, Legge, and Di Grassi. However, none of the drivers actually used the boost of energy during the race, leading the organization to mandate the use for coming races.^[6]

Classification[]

Qualifying[]

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Time	Gap	Grid
1	8	Nicolas Prost	e.dams-Renault	1:42.200		1
2	11	Lucas di Grassi	Audi Sport ABT	1:42.306	+0.106	2
3	66	Daniel Abt	Audi Sport ABT	1:42.454	+0.254	3
4	5	Karun Chandhok	Mahindra Racing	1:42.461	+0.261	4
5	27	Franck Montagny	Andretti	1:42.530	+0.330	81
6	23	Nick Heidfeld	Venturi	1:42.579	+0.379	5
7	3	Jaime Alguersuari	Virgin Racing	1:42.683	+0.483	6
8	28	Charles Pic	Andretti	1:42.726	+0.526	7
9	9	Sébastien Buemi	e.dams-Renault	1:42.746	+0.546	182
10	99	Nelson Piquet, Jr.	China Racing	1:42.785	+0.585	9
11	6	Oriol Servia	Dragon Racing	1:42.847	+0.647	10
12	2	Sam Bird	Virgin Racing	1:42.918	+0.718	11
13	7	Jérôme d'Ambrosio	Dragon Racing	1:44.056	+1.856	12
14	55	Takuma Sato	Amlin Aguri	1:44.129	+1.929	13
15	88	Ho-Pin Tung	China Racing	1:45.282	+3.082	PL2
16	77	Katherine Legge	Amlin Aguri	1:45.369	+3.169	14
17	18	Michela Cerruti	Trulli	1:46.170	+3.970	162
18	10	Jarno Trulli	Trulli	2:16.788	+34.588	202
19	21	Bruno Senna	Mahindra Racing	2:32.729	+50.529	15
20	30	Stéphane Sarrazin	Venturi	3:22.723	+1:40.523	192

Notes:

• ^1 – Franck Montagny received a three-place grid penalty for entering the fast lane during qualifying before the green light.^[7]
• ^2 – Michela Cerruti, Ho-Pin Tung, Sébastien Buemi, Stéphane Sarrazin and Jarno Trulli each received a ten-place grid penalty for a gearbox change. Tung later opted to start from the pitlane.^[7]

Race[]

Pos.	No.	Driver	Team	Laps	Time/Retired	Grid	Points
1	11	Lucas di Grassi	Audi Sport ABT	25	52:23.413	2	25
2	27	Franck Montagny	Andretti	25	+2.867	8	18
3	2	Sam Bird	Virgin Racing	25	+6.559	11	15
4	28	Charles Pic	Andretti	25	+19.301	7	12
5	5	Karun Chandhok	Mahindra Racing	25	+23.952	4	10
6	7	Jérôme d'Ambrosio	Dragon Racing	25	+31.664	12	8
7	6	Oriol Servià	Dragon Racing	25	+41.968	10	6
8	99	Nelson Piquet, Jr.	China Racing	25	+43.896	9	4
9	30	Stéphane Sarrazin	Venturi	25	+43.975	19	2
10	66	Daniel Abt	Audi Sport ABT	25	+1:02.5071	3	1
11	3	Jaime Alguersuari	Virgin Racing	25	+2:00.6131	6
12	8	Nicolas Prost	e.dams-Renault	24	Collision	1	33
13	23	Nick Heidfeld	Venturi	24	Collision	5
14	18	Michela Cerruti	Trulli	24	+1 lap	16
15	77	Katherine Legge	Amlin Aguri	24	+1 lap2	14
16	88	Ho-Pin Tung	China Racing	23	+2 laps	PL
Ret	55	Takuma Sato	Amlin Aguri	21	Mechanical	13	24
Ret	9	Sébastien Buemi	e.dams-Renault	14	Rear wing	18
Ret	10	Jarno Trulli	Trulli	2	Battery	20
Ret	21	Bruno Senna	Mahindra Racing	0	Collision	15

Notes:

• ^1 – Daniel Abt and Jaime Alguersuari each received a drive through penalty converted into a 57-second time penalty for exceeding the allowed battery usage limit of 208kW.^[7]
• ^2 - Katherine Legge received a drive through penalty converted into a 57-second time penalty for crossing the white lane at pit exit.
• ^3 – Three points for pole position.^[7]
• ^4 – Two points for fastest lap.^[7]

Standings after the race[]

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Lucas di Grassi 25 2 Franck Montagny 18 3 Sam Bird 15 4 Charles Pic 12 5 Karun Chandhok 10

Teams' Championship standings Pos Constructor Points 1 Andretti 30 2 Audi Sport ABT 26 3 Virgin Racing 15 4 Dragon Racing 14 5 Mahindra Racing 10

• Notes: Only the top five positions are included for both sets of standings.

References[]

External links[]

• FIA Formula E Results Beijing ePrix