FIA and Formula E officially confirm: Pit Boost in Madrid for the first time not in a double-header

The Madrid E-Prix on 21 March will see a very special premiere: for the first time, Formula E will not be holding a pit boost race as part of a double-header. This was officially confirmed by the FIA and the racing series on Thursday morning. One of the reasons for this is the track length of 3.934 kilometres, which makes it by far the longest lap in Formula E history.

A lap on the Circuito del Jarama is 383 metres longer than a lap on the Homestead-Miami Speedway, the previous record holder. As a result, only a few laps will be completed: 23 laps are planned for the pit boost race. Previously, the schedule included 21 laps, at that time without a mandatory fast-charging pit stop.

PIT BOOST returns ⚡️

See you in Madrid 🇪🇸 pic.twitter.com/WKpJROkSwl

— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) March 5, 2026

A dummy race on the track, which took place as part of the 2024 pre-season tests, provided further insights: Very few overtaking manoeuvres took place. It is quite possible that the FIA has therefore identified the fast-charging pit stops in its simulations as an element that is conducive to good racing on the track without the race degenerating into an extreme energy-saving battle.

Why Pit Boost is neccessary in Madrid

The fact that there are hardly any possibilities for energy regeneration on the circuit - a classic race track - will also have played a role. Although a temporary chicane will be set up on the start-finish straight to enable additional energy recovery, we still expect the track to have the second-highest average speed after Portland: the Gen3 Evo cars with 350 kW are likely to average more than 160 km/h on the circuit.

The mandatory pit stop increases the amount of energy available to the drivers during the race: instead of 38.5 kWh, it is now 42.35 kWh, i.e. ten per cent more. The rules for the pit stop are the same as they were at previous events in the context of double headers: 34 seconds minimum standing time, the battery charge level must be between 40 and 60 per cent. As in Jeddah, only one attack mode lasting six minutes will be available.

We will see in a good two weeks' time whether the Pit Boost will have the desired effect in the Spanish capital. e-Formula.news will be there for you in Madrid and provide live insights from the Circuito del Jarama.