Beijing's Olympic Stadium, used to the roar of a packed crowd, echoed to the roar of something completely different on 13 September 2014. The inaugural Formula E Championship, the world's first fully electric car racing series, was launched on a temporary track at the Bird's Nest.

The Formula E Spark-Renault SRT_01E is the first electric car to be officially recognized by the International Automobile Federation (FIA) to join the global motor racing family. McLaren Electronics Systems provides the power to the motor and the batteries are produced by Williams Advanced Engineering, part of the Williams Group, which owns the Williams F1 Team.

The series, raced at 10 venues worldwide, features 10 teams, 20 drivers and 40 cars, with each team fielding two drivers and four cars. After Beijing, Formula E will move on to nine more street circuit races around the world.