A crash in the last straight of the race between Nick Heidfeld and Nico Prost as both tussled for the win allowed Audi Sport’s Lucas di Grassi to pass and claim the Beijing ePrix win in the first ever Formula E race held around the Bird’s Nest Stadium.

Prost, son of former Formula 1 world champion Alain Prost, was leading the race and tried to block Heidfeld from overtaking him only to damage his front wheel and send Heidfeld’s car somersaulting with the finish line just ahead.

Heidfeld came away from the crash unscathed and confronted an equally aggrieved Prost, before stating afterwards that ”Once I hit the kerb it felt like I was in the air forever. I closed my eyes and waited for the impact and then I thought ‘Oh that was lucky!’ I have a small pain in my calf but apart from that I’m perfectly fine.”

Race winner Di Grassi stated ”I was lucky to be in the right place at the right time. The team did a great job all through practice and qualifying, yes we made a few mistakes but overall I’m extremely happy to be the first ever winner of a Formula E race.”

Franck Montagny of Andretti finished second, three seconds behind Di Grassi while Virgin Racing’s Sam Bird found himself on the podium in third place after Di Grassi’s teammate Daniel Abt – who had finished third – was given a time penalty for going over the 28kw battery limit in the race.

The next ePrix will take place at Malaysia’s Putrajaya Circuit on November 22.