FIA confirm major Formula E Madrid change in historic moment

The FIA has confirmed to RacingNews365 that this month's inaugural Madrid E-Prix will feature Pit Boost, in what is a historic moment for the series.

Formula E's next round in a fortnight takes place just north of the Spanish capital at the Circuito del Jarama, which hosted pre-season testing at the last minute in 2024 following devastating floods in Valencia.

Jarama, a purpose-built circuit, is the longest venue on the calendar this season, with Formula E's layout — which features a temporary chicane along the start/finish straight — measuring 3.934km.

Originally, a 21-lap race was scheduled, following the traditional format of Attack Mode being used twice without the involvement of Pit Boost.

However, Pit Boost will now feature, with one six-minute Attack Mode to be taken, while the distance has also been increased to 23 laps, reports Formula E Notebook.

According to the FIA, this has been done to improve the quality of racing in Madrid by adding a new layer of strategy through Pit Boost.

It marks a small piece of Formula E history, as it will be the first time since its introduction last season that Pit Boost has featured at an event consisting of just one race. All of its previous appearances have come in one of two races on a double-header weekend.

Crucially, it will also offer the FIA and Formula E a chance to assess whether Pit Boost featuring in single-header events going forward, particularly for Gen4, could be possible.

Envision's Joel Eriksson views the FIA's decision for Madrid as a positive one, particularly as he had been concerned about how short the race was set to be.

"Yeah, I think it's good to have a Pit Boost race in Madrid, because I think it would have been quite a short race otherwise," Eriksson told RacingNews365 during an interview.

"So yeah, I think it's just positive, both for the drivers to make it a bit longer and also to make it a bit more difficult for the teams and the drivers, making it more of a strategy race.

"And then obviously, for everyone who's coming out there and watching the race — and also from home on TV — it's just better instead of having a half-hour race."