Hip, hip hurray, It's a podium for Mahindra Racing!

The second season of the FIA Formula E Championship could not have started on a better note for Mahindra Racing as its team driver Nick Heidfeld (he replaced Karun Chandhok from first season) scored their first ever Formula E podium, finishing third in a tight battle on the streets of Beijing. Mahindra’s new M2Electro Formula E car made a strong start to the 2015/16 season with Nick Heidfeld and Bruno Senna qualifying P3 and P7 respectively and finishing P3 & P13.

Mahindra Racing is one of only ten teams – and the only Indian team – to compete in the FIA Formula E Championship.

The race was won by Sebastien Buemi. He became the first driver to ever score the maximum possible points haul of 30 points.

After taking the Julius Baer Pole Position in the new Super Pole shoot-out, the Swiss ace then went on to dominate the SWUSP Beijing ePrix setting the Visa Fastest Lap in the process to complete a unique hat-trick.

“It was a good race. It’s a bit of a weird feeling because I felt I was a little bit on my own, but I would not be against that. It’s good to win with a bit of a margin. I’m happy, the team has done a great job and Renault has done a good power train so I’m just looking forward to the next races right now. I think we even managed to have the fastest lap, which was very difficult last year," he said after his win.

Buemi admitted he didn’t make the best of starts, but he fended off the fast-starting Mahindra of Nick Heidfeld into the first corner to hold the lead. From there on after he dominated the race.

His ability to stretch his lead was stymied twice by the intervention of the Full Course Yellow. This caution system was making its Formula E debut and was given a thumbs up by the drivers.

Meanwhile, Dilbagh Gill, Team Principal of Mahindra Racing Formula E Team said: “I don’t quite have the words to describe what the first podium means to the team and to Mahindra. The performance of both cars in qualifying and Nick’s final result (the fastest team behind Renault) shows that the approach we took to developing the M2Electro powertrain was the right one.

“The car has been reliable and consistent since testing and we now know we also have a package that can compete in both qualifying and race trim. We must congratulate ourselves but we must build on this success in the next race. We could potentially have finished even higher. We have a great car and now we need to aim for consistent race performance.”

Nick Heidfeld said: “I want to thank the team for providing me with a car that can achieve a result like this. I can be a demanding driver and as a team we pushed hard to get this result. We will build on this achievement, refine the car and I believe the M2Electro can continue to race at the front of the grid. I had to work hard to defend on the final laps as other cars were putting pressure on me from behind but I’m glad that our race strategy left me with enough energy to keep them behind me right to the chequered flag.”

Bruno Senna: “It was a mixed day for me. In practice and qualifying, the car felt good and I felt I could have pushed further and further forward in the race. Ultimately it was the pit stop that put me outside the points. 

 “I am so happy that Mahindra Racing has its first Formula E podium. As part of the team since the beginning, I know exactly what it means to everyone. We will go to Malaysia knowing we have a fast and reliable car and with a cleaner race, the results will continue to come."

Buemi didn’t quite lead every lap, however. He was the first driver to pit for his mid-race car swap, which allowed Dragon Racing’s Loic Duval to spend a lap at the head of the field before he too came in to change into his second car.

The pitstop process proved to be Hedifeld’s undoing, and as the team struggled to get his belts fastened he lost places to di Grassi and to Renault e.dams Nico Prost. A fine opportunistic move took him back ahead of Prost, and the pair, who famously duelled for victory in season one only to end with a spectacular accident, once again went wheel-to-wheel around the Beijing Olympic Park circuit.

Prost eventually came out on top, but there would be no podium celebration again for the Frenchman. For reasons the team are yet to ascertain, the right-rear wheel guard fell off his car, breaking the rear wing support in the process. Although Prost was able to continue at race speed, the car was considered to be mechanically dangerous and he was shown the black and orange flag by the race officials. This forced him into the pits where he retired.

This promoted Heidfeld back into third place to score the first ever podium finish for the Mahindra team.

The new era of Formula E is here. The racing was as spectacular as ever and with 76,000 people attending the Olympic Park during the event there was a fantastic atmosphere. But Buemi’s rivals will be hoping that his incredible start to the season can’t stand the heat of Putrajaya, when Formula E returns on November 7.