After eight years of allowing fans to vote on which drivers will get a performance advantage during races, Formula E is apparently moving on.
Chung Sung-JunGetty ImagesThroughout its entire history, Formula E has used fan polls to give top vote-getters an additional power boost at the press of a button for a given race.
The system, called FanBoost, was part of the company’s early push to build a younger and more engaging sort of auto racing untethered from the traditions of more established series. As the all-electric series enters its ninth season and third generation, it is reportedly preparing to abandon the concept.
A report from The Race indicates that a unanimous agreement between teams and championship organizers will end FanBoost for the category’s ninth season in January. That’s welcome news to competitors, who have accused the voting system of being easily cheated and granting advantages to drivers and teams who simply buy votes. Rumors of cheated-up fan votes have risen up time and time again, but no one driver has ever been formally reprimanded for any sort of infraction.
Tying the boost system into Formula E’s existing arcane energy conservation rules made for other problems, too. Once, Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein was accused of activating his FanBoost too late and was demoted from second to fourth after a race. That penalty came just a day after Wehrlein’s first career win was wiped away for incorrectly declared tires.
While FanBoost may be gone, Formula E is still expected to keep at least one strange relic of its origins as a series willing to experiment with the boundaries of normal competition. Attack Mode, a mainstay of the electric series since its fifth season, allows drivers to activate additional power by going off-line and onto pre-determined “activation zones” in corners at certain times. Effectively, the system serves as a real-world equivalent of the zones that give you a speed boost in Mario Kart. It is expected to continue in 2023.
From: Road & Track
Keyword: Formula E Reportedly Will No Longer Let Fans Influence Race Results