- Fanboost has been a feature in Formula E since its inception in 2014
- Fast-charging pitstops could be delayed into 2023
All-electric series Formula E is set to ditch its divisive ‘Fanboost’ system for the start of the 2023 season, according to motorsport news site The Race.
The report says a unanimous agreement has been reached between the teams and the championship promoters to discard the feature.
The system allowed fans to vote for their favourite drivers to receive a boost of power during the race, although the way this has been implemented has evolved over the championship’s history.
The first season gave fans a 12-day window to vote, which closed one hour before the start of the race. Winning drivers saw their 150kW of race power upped to 180kW for five seconds.
The next season saw the window extended to include the first six minutes of each ePrix, although many controversies have spawned from the system, like when the voting process opened up to include hashtags on social media in 2016.
It’s been suggested that drivers were able to manipulate the voting system because of this, although these accusations amounted to unsubstantiated rumours that some were buying votes from ‘bots’.
Formula E is continuing to make changes to its sporting format, with the new qualifying format introduced last season proving to be a success.
However, The Race reports that some aspects of the new sporting format, like fast-charging pitstops, are set to be delayed.
This new feature is likely to be introduced at some stage in 2023, alongside the already established attack mode.