Formula E to introduce in-race FanBoost

FIA Formula E has announced that it will introduce in-race FanBoost voting for the 2015/16 season, allowing fans to provide a power increase to their favourite drivers as the action unfurls.

FanBoost was a major innovation in Formula E’s inaugural season and played a key role in driving engagement between fans, teams and drivers. The approach has been a key factor in Formula E’s reputation as being at the forefront of fan interaction, leading the many more established sports.

The new regulations will now mean that voting for FanBoost will remain open during the first six minutes of the race, allowing spectators to make a real difference to the outcome of the race and react to the changing fates of their favourite racers.

Further to mid-race voting, FanBoost will now provide an additional 100Kj of power to be used within a power window between 180kw and 200kw. As such, drivers will now have to balance their strategies between utilising a smaller amount of the additional power over a prolonged period or in a single burst.

Ali Russell, Director of Media and Strategic Partnerships at Formula E, commented: “FanBoost is a uniquely fan engaging element of our series and by being able to vote during the race the level of engagement will increase significantly, creating a real-time relationship between drivers, teams and fans. We are delighted to partner with Telescope, who have a proven track record in this field, and with their expertise we will evolve the FanBoost concept to become a standard bearer for fan interactivity in sport.”

Formula E has partnered with real-time engagement specialists Telescope, which will allow FIA Formula E to track hashtags across social media. Votes will continue to be cast via the official website and mobile app.

The 2015/16 Formula E commences in Beijing on 12^th October.