No one likes to see accidents. Certainly not when a car becomes airborne. Yet the last-corner clash between Nick Heidfeld and Nicolas Prost undoubtedly did Formula E a favour.
There was certainly a lot of media interest in the inaugural event of the new FIA Formula E Championship in Beijing. Amazingly The Daily Telegraph was represented by two journos in China, one local and one lifestyle. But the race wouldn't have got the coverage it did without pictures of a car flying through the air being beamed around the world.
The accident, as chilling as it was, reinforced for me - and I'm sure everyone else, whether they were present or watching on TV - that Formula E is a real racing series. I certainly wasn't thinking about electric powerplants, energy limits, FanBoost and the like as Heidfeld looked down the inside of the leader into the final corner.