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Citroën boss Cyril Blais has put forward a bold proposal to reshape one of Formula E's most distinctive race elements, suggesting that teams should be free to choose how much energy they take on during a Pit Boost stop rather than being locked into a single fixed amount.
Formula E introduced fast-charging technology from the 2024-25 season, incorporating a mandatory Pit Boost stop into one race of each double-header weekend. While the format added a meaningful strategic layer — drivers can enter the pitlane at any point within a defined window — the stop itself remains tightly regulated. Cars must be charged for exactly 30 seconds, with the energy gain fixed at 3.85kWh, equivalent to 10% of total battery capacity.
The initiative carries real-world significance beyond the racetrack. Aligning with the road car industry's push to ease lingering concerns over electric vehicle range anxiety, the Pit Boost concept represents one of Formula E's clearest bridges between motorsport and mainstream electrification. That context makes it politically important, even if fan reception to the format has been mixed.
As Formula E and the FIA work towards finalising a new sporting format for the Gen4 era, Blais believes the Pit Boost rules could be refined to unlock more meaningful strategic variation. Although he acknowledges the idea did not originate with him, the Citroën chief is clear about what he would like to see.
"It's a Pit Boost, but everybody gets the same amount of energy," Blais told Motorsport. "One thing that we were thinking of was having different lengths of Pit Boost. At the minute, everybody's got a Pit Boost and everybody's got the same amount of energy. But what about if you could choose to stay longer but have more energy, or shorter and less energy? [Under the current format] everybody stops, everybody puts in the same time, so if everybody is doing the same lap time, then everybody circulates [in] the same [position]."
In essence, Blais is identifying the same issue that arises whenever a mandatory element becomes uniform: if everyone does the same thing at the same cost, the strategic variable becomes inert. A variable Pit Boost model would, in theory, force teams and drivers to make genuine trade-off decisions — track position versus energy advantage — rather than simply executing an identical stop at the optimal window.
The logic underpinning Blais's proposal is familiar territory in sportscar racing. In endurance competition, short-fuelling strategies can hand teams a track position advantage, only for those positions to be defended — or surrendered — in the laps that follow. Under a variable Pit Boost model, a driver choosing a shorter stop could gain ground immediately, but face pressure from rivals who absorbed more energy and carry greater pace over the remaining distance.
The strategic calculus would reward preparation, racecraft, and risk appetite — qualities that Formula E has always sought to celebrate, even as the format itself has evolved through successive generations.
It is the kind of nuanced thinking that the sport's most competitive drivers and teams have been navigating all season. As explored in our look at Da Costa's Formula E season of extremes at Jaguar, raw pace alone is rarely enough in a championship where every format decision can reshape a race completely.
Current Pit Boost races already differ from standard races in one notable respect: they feature only a single Attack Mode activation, compared to the two required in non-Pit Boost events. As the championship prepares to introduce Pit Boost across all full-length races from the 2026-27 season, the pressure to get the format right is mounting.
Blais is candid about the tensions involved. While acknowledging that variable Pit Boost durations could initially complicate broadcasts and fan comprehension, he argues that the alternative — prescriptive rules that produce processional racing — is a worse outcome.
"What I'd like to see is that we have an exciting format and we engage fans," he said. "This is where we are at the crossroads for Gen4. We need to find the right balance. In Gen3, sometimes we got it really right and we had very exciting races. Sometimes, I think we don't get it absolutely right when we see those crazy peloton races, which I personally feel is not right for Formula E. So, I think we just have to be able to show and broadcast the performance of the Gen4 car, which would be a huge step in performance, but at the same time keeping the DNA of Formula E, but without going to extreme energy-saving, because it makes the race a bit artificial — and Pit Boost and Attack Mode and this and that. You just have to keep a format and let the product mature and people get used to it."
The remarks reflect a wider industry debate about how much complexity a racing format can absorb before it begins to alienate rather than engage. For Formula E, with its Gen4 transition on the horizon and a renewed push to grow its fanbase, the stakes of getting that balance right have rarely been higher.
He’s a software engineer with a deep passion for Formula 1 and motorsport. He co-founded Formula Live Pulse to make live telemetry and race insights accessible, visual, and easy to follow.