Nelson Piquet Jr clinches Formula E title in a thrilling finale

Nelson Piquet Jr. won the first Formula E Championship by a single point from Sebastien Buemi as the Brazilian driver finished seventh in a thrilling season finale held at the Battersea Park in London.

The six points that go with the seventh place finish was enough for Piquet to clinch the championship. In addition, Piquet's triumph allowed a Chinese team (NEXTEV TCR) to register a championship win in an FIA series for the first time.

On the other hand, the Formula E title could have been awarded to Buemi if he had taken the fourth place from Bruno Senna on the final lap. However, Senna was determined to hold his position as he finished the race ahead of Buemi.

Apart from Piquet, the limelight was also focused on Virgin's Sam Bird who took his second win of the season. Bird actually took the checkered flag right behind Venturi's Stephane Sarrazin, but the Venturi driver was handed a penalty for exceeding the permitted energy allowance. As a result, Serrazin was dropped to fifteenth place.

Bird also registered the fastest race lap, which was worth not just the two bonus points in the classification, but also the Visa Fastest Lap Trophy.

Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag said that the race was a great end to the first FIA championship for fully-electric single-seaters.

“Not even in my wildest dreams could I have imagined the final would turn out like this,” said Agag.

The season ends with a prize-giving evening, which took place at the Natural History Museum in London. On 10 July, at the FIA World Council meeting, the calendar for the second season will be finalized.