Prost said: “I would not have expected for him to have attempted a suicide
move at the end of the race. My victory was stolen. It is really hard.”
Heidfeld, racing for the Venturi team backed by Hollywood star Leonardo
DiCaprio, had clawed his way up from 17th on the grid to push Prost in the
final few laps.
But the crash left the way open for Brazilian Di Grassi, who was racing for
Audi Sport ABT.
“When I realised that they were off, yeah it was like a dream come true,” he
said. “I was alone and have won the race, and I am really, really happy to
be in this position.”
“I was very lucky, to be lucky you also need to be in the right place.”
Frenchman Frank Montagny from the Andretti team finished second, while Briton
Sam Bird of Virgin Racing, the team backed by British tycoon Richard
Branson, took third.
Bruno Senna – the nephew of Ayrton Senna, a huge rival of Alain Prost’s –
suffered a miserable afternoon after the front left side of his axle
appeared to give way after he collided with another car in the first lap.
He has earlier failed to record a lap time in qualification after having
problems with his battery, and started the race near the back of the grid.
With alternative, environmentally-friendly fuels on the rise, the symbolism of
the new formula’s debut in Beijing – a city regularly blanketed by choking
pollution – was unmistakable.
The cars, which can reach speeds of 150mph (225kph), are powered solely by
electricity, and organisers of Formula E say it has received high-level
support on the back of its green credentials.
Alejandro Agag, the chief executive of the company behind the series, said the
first race also proved that electric cars are safe.
“We had the big drama at the end on the last corner of the last lap with that
horrendous crash,” he said.
“The most important thing today is to say that the safety is always first,
that we have proven today that electric cars are safe.
“I don’t think we can get a bigger crash to the one we got today,” he added.
The Formula E series will see 10 races on different street circuits around the
world involving 20 drivers from 10 different teams.