Formula E’s Pit Boost debut receives mixed response…

Jeddah E-Prix winner Maximilian Guenther believes the new Pit Boost concept was “a great addition to the championship” after its inaugural use in a Formula E race, while other drivers remained wary of its implementation.

The technology – whereby drivers were required to make a mandatory pitstop to receive a 10% battery recharge – was used for the first time during Friday’s 31-lap race on a shortened layout of the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in Saudi Arabia.

Poleman Guenther was running second having conceded the lead on lap 11 to Oliver Rowland to conserve energy but after the pitstop cycle the German found himself down in eighth place.

The DS Penske driver surged through the field with the help of two Attack Modes offering an increased 350kW and all-wheel-drive and was back into second during the final laps.

As Rowland lifted and coasted to save energy, Guenther surged into the lead around the outside into the final chicane on the last lap to claim his first Formula E win since Jakarta in 2023.

“I think it’s really cool to have these type of different races because the dynamic is very different, we’ll see a very different kind of racing [on Saturday in the race without pitstops],” said Guenther on Pit Boost.

“It just shows as well Formula E’s progress in terms of technology, in 30 seconds you can charge the car 10% which is incredible under competitive conditions.

“It’s cool, it brings another element of excitement for the fans, for us in the car, for the engineers and teams in the garage. I really think it’s a great addition to the championship.”

The first PIT BOOST has been taken 🙌

How will it play out at the #JeddahEPrix? pic.twitter.com/DMLn3Z8sIb
— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) February 14, 2025

While there was a safety car early in proceedings due to debris on the track, it was before the pit window – available when a driver has used at least 40% of their energy during a race – meaning all Pit Boost stops were made during green flag running.

Rowland, who despite losing out on victory now leads the championship by four points from Porsche’s Antonio Felix da Costa, believes luck could still pay a huge part in the usage of Pit Boost during the remainder of the season.

“It was quite a clean race which I think helped the spectacle,” said the Nissan driver.

“I think we’re going to have a few hiccups along the way when full course yellows and safety cars come out [during the pitstops], but I think in the future if we can use it to strategically have maybe more or less energy depending how long you stop for, I think it would be quite interesting.”

While the technology generally proved reliable throughout the field there were exceptions, with Cupra Kiro’s Dan Ticktum losing out due to an issue.

The Briton had been running as high as eighth and believed a points finish would have been possible but for “a battery fault” that required a full car reset during his stop.

“It wouldn’t charge, there was some kind of issue and basically there was an error and the battery just wouldn’t charge so I had to reset the car,” he said.

“I think the [Pit Boost] technology is very interesting it’s just got to work more or less every time and if it’s not working more or less every time and it’s not quite ready then we need to abandon it, it’s that’s simple.

“The fact you can charge a battery that fast and it doesn’t catch fire, it’s very important technology for the electric consumer market so I think on that basis it’s great, but I’m not f*****g interested if it’s going to screw my races over.”

Saturday’s second race in Jeddah won’t feature Pit Boost, with its next usage set to come during the Monaco double-header weekend in May.