The top 10 Formula E drivers

A total of 34 drivers - 18 of them ex-Formula 1 racers - appeared in Formula E's inaugural season, and six of them were still in the title fight going into what proved to be a thrilling decider in London.

AUTOSPORT's team of reporters select and rank the top 10 stars of the FIA's new world of electric motorsport.

1 NELSON PIQUET JR
Team China Racing
Starts 11
Wins 2
Position 1st

In qualifying, Piquet was only the sixth-best driver over the season. But in the races he was consistently the best performer.

Wins in Long Beach and Moscow were the highlight in terms of results, but even more impressive were those occasions when he battled his way through from disappointing qualifying sessions.

The second race in London - when he climbed from 16th on the grid after rain hit his qualifying group - to finish seventh and take the championship by a point was inspired.

Arguably he should also have won in Miami, meaning the title could have been wrapped up earlier.

2 LUCAS DI GRASSI
Team Audi Sport Abt
Starts 11
Wins 1
Position 3rd

The Brazilian bagged the season opener after Nicolas Prost and Nick Heidfeld had their high-profile collision at the end of the Chinese race then never won again.

But those facts don't tell the real story. He should have won in Argentina, but for a suspension failure that wasn't his responsibility, while in Germany he took the most dominant win of the season on the road at Berlin Tempelhof, only to be excluded for front-wing irregularities the team put down to improvised damage repair.

Always thereabouts and, without the exclusion, would have won the title.

3 SEBASTIEN BUEMI
Team e.dams Renault
Starts 11
Wins 3
Position 2nd

The ex-Toro Rosso driver had some reliability problems early on, while his team's pitstop timing blunder in Moscow was very costly.

But the bottom line is that his speed was tempered by a certain wildness, and there were moments where he showed a tendency towards hitting people. Also, without that spin on his out-lap in the final race in Battersea Park, he would have been crowned.

At his best, the class of the field, but with a few of the rough edges smoothed out we would now be hailing him as the inaugural Formula E champion. His anger at Bruno Senna after the Battersea finale tells a story.

4 JEROME D'AMBROSIO
Team Dragon Racing
Starts 11
Wins 1
Position 4th

The amiable Belgian keeps a relatively low profile, even avoiding the top step of the podium when he took his victory at Berlin Tempelhof because it came as a result of on-the-road winner 
di Grassi's exclusion.

But the ex-Virgin F1 driver was a very dependable performer, finishing every race and becoming more and more competitive as the Jay Penske-run Dragon team became an increasingly competitive proposition.

He did seem to lack the last turn of speed needed to become a consistent race winner. Maybe that will come in the second season.

5 JEAN-ERIC VERGNE
Team Andretti Autosport
Starts 9
Best finish 2nd
Position 7th

Amid all the talk about how long it takes to get used to mastering the Formula E cars, Vergne dropped in at the third round for Andretti Autosport and promptly stuck the car on pole.

He was consistently rapid, and often one of the most spectacular to watch during a qualifying lap, although he never quite managed to translate that into victories.

There was also some of his trademark bad luck, with a certain podium finish on his debut lost to a failure.

Nobody can be in any doubt of the Frenchman's ability; what he needs now is to add rock-solid consistency to have a run at the title.

6 SAM BIRD
Team Virgin Racing
Starts 11
Wins 2
Position 5th

You could look at Bird's high points and conclude that he was desperately unfortunate not to win the championship.

You could equally look at his low points and wonder how he went to the final double-header in London still mathematically in the title hunt.

The question is, how much of that should be attributed to the Virgin Racing team not being at the same level as e.dams, China Racing and Abt?

Probably more of the blame lies with the team than with Bird, who was a rapid and effective racer when he was able to be. His dominant win in Malaysia was particularly impressive.

7 NICOLAS PROST
Team e.dams Renault
Starts 11
Wins 1
Position 6th

Amid an illustrious driver line-up, the Prost name seemed incongruous given that his single-seater pedigree is limited - a victory in Spanish Formula 3 the high point. But the son of Alain enhanced his reputation with a strong season.

There were low points, notably his baffling chop into Heidfeld on the last lap in China, a move that seemed borne more out of panic and unfamiliarity with leading a race than 
a cynical attempt to hit his rival.

But 
his win in Miami was well taken and, particularly early in the season, qualifying was strong. He was 
also the most consistent driver in the field.

8 NICK HEIDFELD
Team Venturi
Starts 11
Best finish 3rd
Position 12th

The F1 veteran was in the thick of 
the action from the start of the season and deserved to win the first race in China. Instead, he ended up the wrong way up after being hit by Prost.

The problem for Heidfeld seemed to be the inconsistency of the Signature-run Venturi team, which showed sporadic pace but was, overall, one of the less-convincing operations.

As you would expect, Heidfeld qualified solidly and raced very well, and deserved to end the season with more than one podium finish. 
There were a few pits-related penalties 
along the way too, which didn't help.

9 ANTONIO FELIX DA COSTA
Team Amlin Aguri
Starts 8
Wins 1
Position 8th

As the season progressed, da Costa became increasingly frustrated with Amlin Aguri's difficulty in finding qualifying speed.

In the races he was excellent (his drive from the lower reaches of the grid to what would have been a top-five finish in Berlin, but for 
a penalty, is a fine example), but grid positions were simply not a good enough platform for his strong race pace to net the kinds of results needed to add to his victory in Argentina.

He did race well even from lowly grid slots and would have finished higher but for missing three of the races.

10 SCOTT SPEED
Team Andretti Autosport
Starts 4
Best finish 2nd
Position 15th

For a driver who made only four starts to make it into our top 10 drivers is far from easy, but the ex-Toro Rosso pilot's performances, including a remarkable second place on his debut, mean that he edges out full-season campaigners Loic Duval and Daniel Abt.

Like fellow Andretti driver Vergne, Speed made a real splash and it's unfortunate he was not able to build upon his cameo performances.

His qualifying results weren't as strong as they might have been, but he showed a real aptitude for these cars in race trim and is a certain race winner given a full season in the future.