Formula E: A Tale of two cities

Sam Bird and Lucas di Grassi have been the class of the field in Formula E so far.

Two races in and already two drivers have established a gap over the rest in the FIA Formula E Championship. These are round one winner, and current points leader, Lucas di Grassi and victor last time out Sam Bird.

Just three points separates the Audi Sport ABT man from his Virgin Racing rival. They have both appeared on the podium each time out thus far, with Bird inheriting third in Beijing when Daniel Abt was punished for exceeding his energy consumption, while di Grassi charged through the field at Putrajaya, making up for crashing in qualifying with a storming drive to second.

The level of consistency shown by both drivers has moved them well clear of the chasing pack. In fact, both men have more than twice as many points as the driver in third – Franck Montagny. The Andretti racer has been one of the most entertaining to watch so far this season, forcing his way to second in Beijing. He was on a charge in Putrajaya too and was well inside the top-10 when he took one too many risks and had his nose cone dislodged. The lengthy pitstop that followed dropped him out of the points.

The last lap clash between Nick Heidfeld and Nico Prost produced an epic finish to the Beijing ePrix

Two pole positions has marked e.dams-Renault racer Nicolas Prost out as the man to watch in qualifying, however his last-lap clash with Nick Heidfeld not only cost them both dearly in the season opener, but also ensured Prost had a 10-place grid penalty for race two. From 11th on the grid he came home fourth to score his first race points.

The man directly ahead of him at the finish was team-mate Sebastien Buemi, the driver who topped four of the five pre-season tests. He endured a miserable race in Beijing and when he hit troubles again in qualifying in Putrajaya it seemed he was out of luck again. But like di Grassi, he starred in the race, climbing from the back row to grab a podium spot.

Dragon Racing's Oriol Servia leads the field into turn 1 at Putrajaya

Another driver to demonstrate much stronger form in Putrajaya was Oriol Servia, who started the race from pole for Dragon. He couldn't keep Bird behind in the race, but was part of a great fight for second. He eventually lost out in the pitstops and came home seventh.

At the other end of the points, three of Formula E's most famous names have yet to get off the mark. It's been a story of two crashes for Venturi's Heidfeld, while Bruno Senna and Jarno Trulli have had to contend with technical issues as well as the unforgiving concrete walls.

After failing to complete a lap in Beijing, Trulli was in the hunt for a top-three finish in Malaysia and reckons a good result is on the cards soon.

"It's very disappointing on one side because obviously we could have finished on the podium at the last race but on the other side we have showed some very good progress and speed, so it's just a matter now of getting things all together and right through the weekend with a bit of luck," he reckons.

"Honestly, I'm hoping to finish the race in the points without trouble and I'm sure I can be in the top five. A lot of it is down to having a trouble-free weekend but we'll have to see. We don't know the track, it's something new for everyone but again the speed we showed in Malaysia is promising for the future."

Senna recorded the fastest lap of the entire weekend in Beijing, but technical troubles hobbled him in qualifying and broken suspension ended his race on lap one. In Putrajaya he became the first-ever driver to pull-off an overtaking move using FanBoost, and was closing down on Buemi for third when he crashed on the final lap.

"The first race was unfortunate with some technical issues with the car," he says. "The second race we weren't in the right place after qualifying but we were very strong and competitive in the race and had some very good help from the fans with the FanBoost. It's a shame that on the last lap I was trying for third place and I ended up hitting the wall. Streets circuits are very unforgiving so these things happen but I know that it won't take long for us to put everything together and hopefully score some good points – a podium or a win.

"I was in Chile for a few days [before the Punta race] and everybody there was talking about the Formula E race and quite a few people are planning to go, so I think the championship is starting to get the attention of people more and more. With two South American races and a few South American drivers and hopefully we'll have a great crowd. Both the races in Punta and Buenos Aires are in lovely places and it's a great idea for people to go there and check it out."

Formula E