Formula E is off to a crashingly good start in China with a close race and spectacular crashes. The cars even passed the driver stress test with Nick Heidfeld walking away from the most spectacular crash of the day.

The first race of the inaugural season saw drivers racing on roads surrounding Beijing’s Birds Nest. The cars are similar in design and construction to their older brother F1, with the exception of the power train. The all electric Formula E cars swap out the petrol engine for a 150-180Kw electric motor.

The unusually quiet racing is fast and furious with drivers displaying a willingness to push hard to win, god old fashioned racing spirit. The accident on the final corner of the race between Nick Heidfeld and Nicholas Prost is a good example of that.

The FIA aren’t afraid to try new things with Formula E, no surprise there I guess, in an attempt to get fans involved the have FanBoost that allows fans to tweet in and vote for their favourite driver. The winner of the popularity contest gets a 20% boost in power. Letting the slower but popular driver accelerate past the more socially challenged wheel men.

Undoubtedly off to a spectacular start Formula E looks like an interesting idea that may be ahead of its time. Can it really last and will they bow to the cries for synthetic car noise? Only time will tell but here at Highpants we’ll be tuning in over the web while making our own car noises.

Reference: FIA Formula E