Formula E 2015: Electric dreams come true on banks of Thames

Piquet dramatically clinches first Formula E world title in south London

Nelson Piquet Jnr on his way to winning the Formula E title (PA)

A paddock is a paddock wherever they roll out the red carpet: there are varying degrees of Gucci and Prada, plus Tamara Beckwith – a throwback to the early days of cross-pollination between sport and celebrity, and also the wife of the heir to an Italian construction empire, Giorgio Veroni, who is busy bringing sponsors to racing’s electric dream.

Beckwith was among the 1,000 high rollers in ‘Emotion’ Formula E’s equivalent to Formula One’s Paddock Club here at London’s Battersea Park yesterday, a house of privilege, popping corks and canapes from where posh types gaze down insouciantly upon men in overalls tinkering with cars in the pit lane.

This being London it hosed it down for an hour or so before the parade began presenting all manner of sartorial handicaps for girls in heels. Just as well that it is a short hop from the circuit across the Thames to Chelsea, so once the race started, those so inclined could whistle a cab for a wardrobe shift and be back amongst it by the time the chequered flag fell.

It was quite the bash on the London waterfront, this being a racing concept that reaches out to the spectator as well as the eco sensibilities of a sporting world growing tired of the direction of travel pursued by Formula One.

Formula E is a racing series that takes the driver to the paying customer with a hugely popular autograph session before kick-off, a series fundamentally attached to a sustainable, clean power source, and one that is relevant to the electrically minded road car industry, and perhaps most importantly, a series that places the driver at the centre of the enterprise.

Unlike F1, Formula E is not wedded to the centrality of technology, though next season it will allow teams to improvise and innovate with the battery-fired powertrain. Who cares that the cars whine like food blenders; they are identical in every respect, down to tyres that look as if they might be supplied by Kwik-Fit. It is the driver that makes the difference, which is as it should be.

Nelson Piquet Jnr celebrating victory (GETTY IMAGES)

London was chosen to host the 10th and concluding round of the inaugural Formula E championship, a suitably hip finale at the end of a nine-month campaign that began last September in Beijing and visited other bucket-list favourites like Miami, Moscow, Berlin, and Buenos Aires, plus racing staples Monaco and Long Beach.

A grand prix in London has long been the fantasy of F1 impresario Bernie Ecclestone. A parade of F1 cars drew crowds of 250,000 to the capital’s streets under Ken Livingstone’s mayoral reign 11 years ago. A prospective circuit was subsequently drawn up centred on Hyde Park but it was Formula E chief executive Alejandro Agag who finally pulled it off south of the river.

It is a pity the narrow circuit threading through Battersea Park, concealed as it is behind a perimeter of trees in full leaf, could not make more of the Thames bordering the track to the north nor the London skyline beyond. For that you would have had to be flying the helicopter feeding panoramic images to the television coverage.

A wet qualifying shuffled the order to push championship leader Nelson Piquet Jnr down the grid to 16th. This was the first time this series had encountered wet conditions anywhere in the world. Perhaps the fates have fallen in behind the eco imperative, choosing to throw in a curve ball to guarantee drama.

Only five points separated Piquet from nearest rival Sébastien Buemi, two of the three drivers handed fan boosts, a five-second power hike donated by punters via a fan-vote. Brit Oliver Turvey was the third recipient.

The race started in warm sunshine, the prelude to an unseasonally tropical week coming to Blighty. Richard Branson, who flirted with F1 some years back before baulking at the cost of entry, put his name to a team on this grid, claiming that the ePrix will be the dominant vehicle for motor sport within five years, knocking an outmoded F1 out of the picture.

Well, we know Branson is not shy in coming forward. His claim is premised on the eco relevance of electric power and exciting sport. F1 is without a clear strategy of how to go forward, a spectacle diminished by Mercedes dominance and uncertain ownership. It might yet be ambushed by the ambition of the clear thinkers at Formula E, who produced a thrilling climax yesterday.

At the half way point Piquet sat 10th with Buemi, who won Saturday’s race from pole to bring the championship within reach, fifth and heading for the crown. Then a spin on lap 17 dropped him down to seventh.

Piquet has 13 laps to rescue his weekend, and maybe his career after the disgrace of his F1 exit, deliberately crashing his Renault in Singapore six years ago to aid his team-mate Fernando Alonso’s championship ambitions.

He began the recovery here by racing into the pits to swap cars, in the electric age that is another dimension doffing its cap to an earlier era in racing, and more interesting than simply changing tyres. With seven laps to go Fabio Leimer smashed his machine into the barriers to bring out the safety car. This was it, Piquet’s invitation to chase nirvana.

With the field closed, Piquet’s Team China team-mate Turvey helpfully moved aside and Salvador Duran appeared to look the other way. The championship was now his to lose, or Buemi’s to win if he could only get past Bruno Senna. Twice Buemi nudged the rear of Senna in a frantic finale, but his Mahindra appeared to widen with each lunge.

Piquet held on, though he had to be told by the television commentary team linked live to his cockpit that he was champion. “Have I won the championship?” he asked. “Jesus, I don’t know what to say. We tried so hard. Oh my God, I can’t believe it.”

Cue tears, and later when more composed, a gin and tonic. “I tried to avoid asking any questions [during the race]. That was the strategy, just go past guys. I still didn’t know I had won when I crossed the line.”

The race was won by Britain’s Sam Bird, who narrowly failed to reel in pole man Stéphane Sarrazin in the final dash to the line, but was classified the winner via a time penalty to Sarrazin imposed for running his battery too low.