What is Pit Boost? All you need to know about Formula E’s fast-charged pit stop into Season 12

Written by Vyas Ponnuri

Formula E returns to Jeddah for its first double header of 2026. While that provides two opportunities for drivers and teams to score points, it also brings about the first appearance of Pit Boost in Season 12. 2026 marks the second year of Formula E using this feature, but this season features tweaks to Pit Boost races. 

Credit: Formula E

The concept of Pit Boost had been mooted as early as Season 9, when the first season of the Gen3 Formula E cars took to the track. Formula E had originally planned to introduce a feature involving fast-charging, with drivers expected to make a pit stop during a Formula E race, gain more energy in their batteries through a fast charger, and return to the racetrack. 

With this added element of strategy, it would allow drivers to push harder during the races, given they would have upto 10% of extra energy available, thanks to the pit stop. 

However, Pit Boost’s implementation wouldn’t come about just yet. Concerns arose over the 600 kW fast-charging feature and whether the discharge of so much power through a charger would be safe for the crew working on the car itself. Moreover, the batteries on the Gen3 cars themselves brought about some worries. Incidents such as a battery exploding during pre-season testing for Season 10 in Valencia kept Formula E on its toes. 

Ultimately, after another test of the technology had to be shelved in Misano later that year, Formula E opted to run tests during pre-season testing in Season 11, as well as a mock race ahead of the Mexico City E-Prix weekend. 

Finally, after much anticipation, Formula E unveiled fast charging to the paddock ahead of the Jeddah E-Prix in 2025. A year on, Pit Boost will make its first appearance in Season 12 in Jeddah, featuring in Round 4 to take place on Friday, 13 February. 

What exactly is Pit Boost, though?

Pit Boost is Formula E’s moniker for its new fast-charging technology introduced in Season 11. It is Formula E’s way of incorporating pit stops, and marks the latest evolution brought forward by the championship, in its quest to be at the forefront of technology in automobiles. 

Drivers will enter the pits to take an extra 10% of energy, stopping in their pit boxes until the energy is added in through 600 kW fast chargers connected to the rear of the Formula E car, before rejoining the circuit once again. Only one pit stop can be made for each driver to avail this feature. 

The introduction of Pit Boost makes for an additional strategy element for teams and drivers to consider, and leverage it to gain an advantage during races involving Pit Boost. Alongside attack mode, it becomes a tactical race for drivers to navigate and find out how to use both tools to the best extent and emerge ahead. 

Is Pit Boost there in every Formula E race?

No. Pit Boost is used only on the first race of a double-header weekend. That means it will be used at Round 4 this weekend in Jeddah. 

Pit Boost will also be used on the first race of the Berlin, Monaco, Shanghai, Tokyo and London E-Prix weekends. It will not be used on standalone race weekends such as Jarama or Sanya E-Prix. 

Is Pit Boost optional or mandatory for drivers to use?

Pit Boost is mandatory for each driver to use. Every driver must enter the pits at least once to make a pit stop and utilise this feature. 

When can drivers take Pit Boost during a race? 

There remains a specific window within which a driver is required to enter the pits to take Pit Boost. Drivers will have to take this mandatory pit stop when their state of charge (SoC) is between 40% to 60% during the race, which is usually stated 21 days before an E-Prix weekend. 

Drivers must ensure the energy left in their batteries doesn’t drop below 40% before their pit stop, but doesn’t stay above 60% either. Given the varying energy consumption and regeneration patterns, this window to make the mandatory pit stop varies over several laps. 

How can I find out who has taken Pit Boost and who hasn’t?

Should you be tuning in through live broadcasts, the Formula E timing ladder usually indicates the status of a driver’s Pit Boost on the left hand side of the screen using a ‘spark’ icon. 

This spark turns green when a driver is in their pit box, activating Pit Boost during a race. You’ll also see a progressive bar appear on the right-hand side of the timing ladder, indicating the status of energy being refilled through the fast charger.  

To differentiate between drivers who have taken Pit Boost from those who haven’t, graphics will also show this by using the term ‘Pit Boost Leader’ to show the de facto race leader among those who have made the pit stop. 

On the racetrack, a light on the car’s halo will be visible when a driver enters the pits to avail Pit Boost, indicating that they are in a state of recharging. 

Are Pit Boosts like Formula One pit stops?

In fact, it is quite the contrary. While a traditional F1 pit stop lasts for around two to three seconds, Pit Boost usually ranges around 30 seconds in race time for each driver. This adds another 10% in energy to each driver’s battery. 

Unlike F1, you will see fewer personnel and equipment around the car during a Formula E pit stop. Only two pit crew members are allowed to work on the car and hook up the charger from the recharging unit to the car. Another person is allowed in the pit box to stop and release the car after activating Pit Boost. 

There will also be no aspect of ‘double-stacking’ for Pit Boost, with only one car allowed to use this feature at a time. Drivers and teams would instead look to avoid this, though, given the hefty time loss in these pit stops. 

Failure to take Pit Boost within the SoC or take it at all during a race would have serious consequences, with drivers even risking a post-race disqualification for this infringement. 

What about attack mode in Pit Boost races?

This is where things have changed for Season 12. Earlier, drivers were required to take both attack mode activations alongside the Pit Boost during races. Having an excess of elements often complicated strategy during the race. 

To simplify the races with Pit Boost into Season 12, Formula E announced a change in the attack mode rules for races featuring pit stops. Drivers would only be required to activate attack mode once in races having Pit Boost, for a total of six minutes. 

This is in contrast to the regular format, which requires drivers to use attack mode for eight minutes, across two activations during the race. 

With fewer strategy elements to worry over, expect more racing from the drivers during this weekend’s race and across Season 12. 

Have teams faced any issues with Pit Boost till now?

While some teams have experienced minimal trouble with Pit Boost so far, a few teams have complained of issues with their fast chargers during races. 

Andretti experienced the first issue in Jeddah in 2025, when Jake Dennis was forced to retire on Lap 21 due to the fear of his battery overheating and even exploding due to a suspected Rechargeable Energy Storage System (RESS) issue on his car. 

The American team were also in the thick of it once again in Monaco, when teammate Nico Müller’s fast charger did not replenish energy into his Andretti during the Pit Boost stop early in the race. 

While the FIA could manually update the amount of energy, this didn’t reflect in the SoC in Müller’s Andretti. Despite gaining a big initial advantage, he had to lift and coast later in the race to avoid penalties, eventually finishing fifth and pipped to the line by Mahindra’s Edoardo Mortara. 

Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein had also faced a minor issue that cost him seconds during his Pit Boost stop in the same race. The German team revealed it was an issue with fitting the fast charger to his car, causing them to take out and plug in the charging device once again. 

It also remains to be seen how teams and drivers react to safety cars or red flags interrupting races with Pit Boost. This was also trialled during the mock race simulation run by Formula E during pre-season testing.