Pit Stop | E for excitement - electric hot wheels gain traction
Environmentally friendly cars make their debut and a dramatic crash in Beijing adds to impact
Well, who would have thought it, electric cars are interesting. Ever since Clive Sinclair tootled around the streets of Britain with his C5, electric cars have had something of an image problem. Despite the best efforts of Tesla, fans of sports cars have rather looked down their noses at electric or hybrid hot wheels.
Imagine everyone's surprise then when an actual electric racing car formula turned out to be, well, rather good.
Formula E got under way with a bang in Beijing. To be more accurate, it finished with a bang as leaders Nick Heidfeld and Nicolas Prost came together at the final corner. Heidfeld was launched into the air and landed upside down in his crumpled heap of a car.
Once he'd managed to wriggle out, he and Prost had a frank exchange of views while Prost Snr shook his head in the pits. The win, by the way, went to Lucas di Grassi, another former F1 driver.
In a way, who won the first race doesn't really matter. What does is the idea of motor racing powered by electricity gaining traction. There was a lot of media attention on the track that weaved its way through the Olympic Park. Many nations took the event live, and news reports lapped up the drama on the last lap.
There are big names backing the series. Alain Prost is not the only household name involved. Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio is a backer as is Richard Branson, who is involved with Virgin Racing.
Of course, the fact that it's an official FIA formula really helps.
