Formula E loves chaos - but what else does pit boosting offer?
More than two years after fast charging was first tested, Formula E has finally announced it will adopt energy boosting pitstops. That leans into its chaos-making reputation, and it has a shot at making this work - but its most important stakeholders still need convincing
Sporting and technical PR has created a kind of 'swingball' effect for Formula E in its decade long history so far.
From the self-inflicted slap in the face of the derided FanBoost concept to the more recent lunacy of the so-called 'Golden Lap' (which at least didn't make it into reality), Formula E has had its fair share of duds.
But when it's swung for Formula E it has swung strong.
The attack mode gamble paid off handsomely, as did the new-for-2022 duels qualifying format, which is one of the better systems of forming a grid currently used in motorsport. Kudos.
Yet now, Formula E approaches a gamble that feels not only a bit unnecessary but also one where the dice can't be accurately loaded: the return of pitstops. This time energy boosting ones that have baffled many in the paddock trying to work out their relevance or sporting purpose.
Official confirmation of their introduction for the next rounds in Jeddah next month comes after two and a half years of testing the infrastructure and charging systems, of which one will be used by each team. That of course means only one car per team can stop at a time, meaning that the strategic use of 'pit boost' will likely split teams down the middle on occasions.
Depending on the spectacle it provides, it is planned to be used at double-header events - which could mean five further appearances this year in Monaco, Tokyo, Shanghai, Berlin and London.
That could prove to be a title-defining decision that has been reached by the promoter Formula E Operations and the FIA. It's a big call and it's been met with a great deal of scepticism by the manufacturers and teams, some drivers and inevitably fans as well.
Does Formula E need pitstops?
This is as much the central question as it is an existential one. But it needs a lot of chronological context too.
The genesis of the possibility to introduce energy boosting pitstops came at the initial gestation of the Gen3 project back in 2019. That was when the tendering process for the Gen3 was in motion and when what was then Williams Advanced Engineering successfully grabbed the deal from McLaren Applied Technology and others.
That was seen as a surprise in the industry as MAT had been widely praised for its relatively seamless Gen2 design and engineering support.
The specifics of the pit boosting deal are not completely clear but definitely included an initial approach to electrical engineering company and series title sponsor ABB, which then appears to have deferred from the potential deal, whereupon WAE, which has since become Fortescue Zero, picked up the plans.
ABB is believed to have backed away from being overly involved in the energy boosting project for a mix of internal corporate reasons around its e-mobility strand and a dilution of its main charging capability in Formula E. In short, it is likely that the experimental nature of the pit boosting turned the title partner of Formula E off more than on.
Just prior to that, the manufacturers expressed positively that as part of the technical roadmap they would support energy boosting pitstops. The teams then followed suit and also supported it.
That's when the ship set sail and there was no rowing back as the contracts were signed for a potential 2023 launch to coincide with the Gen3 car era beginning.
What soon became clear was that the technology was nowhere near ready and wouldn't be for some time. The added delay and knock-on of the Gen3 issues, which were myriad but did include a switch in cells for the spec RESS battery, meant that a 2024 introduction would be much more likely.
In the event, even that was too soon, because the hardware had to be completely bulletproof to be introduced.
By this stage did the need for energy topping up fade? Has it become less vital? The probability is that it did to some extent, although this is likely to be territory-dependent.
A Global EV Outlook report by the International Energy Agency in October 2024 detailed that: "The United Kingdom has one of the highest reported shares of access to home charging, at 93% more than half of which are smart chargers.
"This is partly due to the United Kingdom being the first country to release smart charge point regulations but, importantly, it could also be attributed to the high share of early EV adopters that also own a home in which a charger can be installed."
In the UK, where the majority of Formula E teams are based and where the world championship itself is located, many have electric vehicles that are capable of going the length and breadth of the UK with decent range.
But for consumers in the USA, Canada or China, a short distance is a three-and-a-half-hour drive. Then range does become more of an issue, therefore it is a different market.
If you have got fast-charging in the US and it enables your car to have a really quick hit of energy whilst you're having a coffee before your next three-hour journey leg, then what Formula E is doing with pit boosting is very relevant.
On the sporting side it's hard to argue that Formula E needs another joker to create a hand. The first two races of the season in Sao Paulo and Mexico City provided entertaining anarchy and a well-structured, purist-friendly race respectively.
But here's the thing: the promoters just love chaos. They are the chaos masters, always have been, always will be and they crave unpredictability. Cue series co-founder Alberto Longo in a media roundtable just prior to the pit boosting being confirmed today.
"This sport seems to be not human anymore, where the machines are basically controlling everything and making sure that a driver can win or not," said Longo.
"We want drivers who are skilled enough to win races, and we want eventually that if there is a mistake in the garage, there is a mistake in the garage.
"We have been all of us long enough in motorsport to know that things like this can happen and eventually that will destroy the race of a single driver during the race weekend. And it is what it is.
"I think it's, again, really good to have not only the technology on site, but also the fact that we are somehow involving humans again into it."
The lust for chaos in a nutshell!
That's all very well and is the prerogative of the promoters, who want their product to sell as much as it can. But the manufacturers especially just don't like it.
They didn't like the madhouse qualifying of 2020 and 2021. They got it changed and it worked better, so from their point of view they will naturally fight further attempts to shake the racing snow globe again.
Will it just be confusing?
At Mexico City earlier this month, The Race was privy to some of the dress-rehearsal TV footage from the Jarama dummy race which used the pit boosting equipment.
Dazzled and disorientated by the glut of graphics, following what was happening was only just about digestible. The production of Formula E TV is generally outstanding but even that experienced crew will find adequately illustrating and narrating the action challenging.
"How this [pit boosting] will be perceived by the public, and how this will be explained to the public, this is out of our scope," Nissan team principal Tommaso Volpe told The Race recently.
"Our input was very clear that we need to try to make it as simple as possible because it can be complicated. Yes, on one end you say, 'They need to stop and recharge', but then the power boost and everything can add some complications in the understanding of the public.
"My main concern is not how much we explain to the public, but if there will be confusion on the track after.
"We have to see what happens in terms of pure entertainment - if this will cause entertainment, which we all hope for, or a little bit of confusion for the public. Let's see."
The drivers feel a bit split on the implementation of the pitstops this season. Some are getting spooked that it will be too random and will threaten their positions of competitiveness, while others are viewing it as an opportunity.
It's not difficult to see the likes of Jaguar, Maserati MSG or Kiro being reasonably excited that they could be brought into the picture for opportunities to challenge the hierarchy of Porsche, Andretti and Nissan that began to emerge at Mexico City a few weeks ago.
"I'm very open to it but first of all the system and everything needs to be bulletproof and it needs to work for everyone," Porsche's reigning champion Pascal Wehrlein told The Race.
"It should not create unfair situations and I just hope that it doesn't affect the race results in a bad way that the first group of cars does the pit boost, and just right after we have a safety car or something like that.
"This would mix up the whole field completely and you could be running in P1, and then if you're in the wrong group you could be out of the points. That's the only concern from my side, otherwise I am looking forward to it.
"I think from another view as a manufacturer we can learn a lot from that so it definitely makes a lot of sense for us as a team and as a group.
"Always, going into something a bit more unknown opens a window to do a bit better than the others, to understand something a bit better than the others, so I'm more positive about it."
There aren't many agnostics in the Formula E paddock right now when it comes to pit boost and perhaps there should be more.
The debrief over the return of pitstops post-Jeddah will be complex and intense. Whether they're wanted or not, they are coming and as ever in motorsport, some will be ready and some won't be.
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