Formula E's CEO, Alejandro Agag, has rubbished recent claims of cheating within the series' unique Fanboost voting system.
Agag's comments follow the Santiago ePrix which saw Sebastien Buemi, Lucas di Grassi and Jose Maria Lopez get awarded the 10kj power boost to use in the second half of the race while Audi Sport's Daniel Abt suggested that some had cheated the system after he dropped out of the top three of voting overnight before the race.
"The Fanboost voting system is constantly monitored and reviewed to ensure user verification and credible results," said Agag.
"We've continued to improve the system since it was implemented in the first-ever season of Formula E, adding further layers of authentication to the voting process following suggestions from the teams.
"Well over a million fans have voted for their favourite driver and we see this number growing as the popularity of the series increases.
"The system is very reliable and drivers shouldn't waste time in questioning the validity of Fanboost."
Agag continued and stated that Fanboost is "based on one of Formula E's key principles, which is to allow the utmost fan participation in our sport".
The Santiago ePrix was the first time this season that Abt missed out on Fanboost, having finished on the podium in the popularity contest in Hong Kong and Marrakesh.
"It's not surprising the drivers with the most Fanboost votes are some of the better known names, or those fighting for wins and championships such as Buemi, Vergne, di Grassi or Piquet," said Agag.
"Fans usually tend to vote for the drivers in the fight at the front, wanting to influence the podium picture.
"It's also interesting how voting changes between drivers when visiting the different countries we race in.
"Lopez was the star in Santiago because of his South American origin, as much as Filippi was in Hong Kong for its ties with the Chinese NIO team."
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