AUTOSPORT Awards 2014: Formula E wins Pioneering and Innovation

The all-electric championship is the brainchild of series CEO Alejandro Agag and takes place on city centre street circuits around the world.

Agag collected the award from 2009 Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button.

"Many people in motorsport, when we started Formula E, didn't think we would make the first race. Ourselves, on many mornings didn't think we would make the first race..." said Agag on stage.

"To announce we were doing a championship with cars that didn't then exist was a real challenge. But after that first race in Beijing, everything worked.

"We were a bit of a strange thing, with no noise, with being all-electric. But we've had so much help from the world of motorsport."

Formula E has attracted numerous former Formula 1 drivers, including 2004 Monaco Grand Prix winner Jarno Trulli, and high profile team investors. Alain Prost is co-founder of the e.dams-Renault squad alongside DAMS team boss Jean-Paul Driot, while Hollywood actor Leonardo di Caprio co-founded the Monaco-based Venturi team.

All 10 teams competing in the inaugural season use the same Spark-Renault SRT _01E car, which features an electronic power train built by McLaren Electronic Systems and 200kw batteries, equivalent to 270bhp, supplied by Williams Advanced Engineering.

For the second season, Formula E will operate as an open championship as teams will be allowed to build their own power trains and batteries.

Formula E attempts to attract a new motorsport audience with its heavy use of social media, live music during races and holding all sessions on a single day to minimise disruption to the host cities.

The most controversial feature of the new series is the FanBoost system that awards the three drivers with most votes accrued through social media an extra five second power increase of 30kw to use on both of their cars in the race.

Lucas di Grassi took victory in the inaugural ePrix in Beijing after Nicolas Prost and Nick Heidfeld had a spectacular coming together at the final corner. Virgin Racing's Sam Bird then dominated the second race in the Malaysian city of Putrajaya.