The FIA Formula E championship has revealed they have introduced a new-for-season-two rule that allows a Full Course Yellow (FCY) to be declared during a race.
In a similar move to the Virtual Safety Car introduced this season in Formula 1, Formula E competitors will be limited to just 50kph when the FCY is in place, which will enable any marshals to recover any stranded car or debris on circuit.
Drivers will also be made to maintain the gap to the car in front, with overtaking strictly prohibited, while any driver driving ‘erratically or unnecessarily slowly’ will be reported to the stewards overseeing the event.
The pit lane will remain open, much like in Formula 1, with the 50kph limit also applying to the pit lane, while cars entering or exiting the pits may overtake cars on track in between the two Safety Car lines.
Officials are still also able to introduce the safety car as the situation necessitates.
The championship has also introduced a revised penalty system for season two, with stewards now having four options available to them at each event, with the severity of the incident determining the penalty applied. The penalties are:
- A five-second time penalty, which can be applied during a drivers pit stop or as a time penalty if the offence happens after the pit stop.
- A ten-second time penalty, as above.
- A drive-through penalty, which means a driver will have to drive through the pit lane without stopping.
- A ten-second stop and go penalty, which means a driver will be forced to stop at their pit box for at least ten seconds before being allowed to rejoin the race.
Another change brought in for season two is the introduction of in-race voting for the FanBoost, with votes being allowed to count for the first six minutes of the race.
The way FanBoost votes are taken is also set to be made easier, with hashtag voting set to take place on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
“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,” said Ali Russell, the Director of Media and Strategic Partnerships at Formula E.
“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.”
