The 2015–16 FIA Formula E season was the second season of the FIA Formula E championship, held from 24 October 2015 to 3 July 2016. The season sees the introduction of eight manufacturers, who are allowed to develop new power trains, specifically the e-motor, the inverter, the gearbox and the cooling system. Nelson Piquet Jr. was the defending drivers champion and Renault e.dams successfully defended teams champion. After ten rounds, Sebastien Buemi won the championship by just two points over Lucas di Grassi after setting the fastest lap in the final race, where neither driver finished following an opening lap crash and several attempts to set the fastest lap in their second cars.
Teams and drivers
The second season was planned to again feature 10 teams that were essentially identical from the inaugural season. But, the withdrawal of Trulli after failing to enter the first two races left 9 teams competing for the 2015-16 season. Additionally, there are 8 manufacturers of power trains that work together with or are part of the individual teams. Initially only Team Aguri decided to keep the power train from the previous season, while Dragon use the Venturi power train. Due to the regulations, all teams use the same chassis as in the first season. The 8 manufacturers were homologated by the FIA in August 2015. After troublesome preseason testing, Andretti decided to revert to the power train from the inaugural season.
‡ Drivers were present at the first two rounds of the championship, but the team failed to pass scrutineering both times
All ten teams from the first season intended to compete in season two, with some name changes due to sponsorship changes or manufacturer cooperations.
Eight teams became manufacturers and produce components either by themselves or with a technology partner: Abt (with Schaeffler), Andretti, e.Dams (with Renault) Mahindra, NEXTEV, Trulli (with Motomatica), Venturi, and Virgin (with DS/Citroën). On 25 August 2015, Andretti decided to retain the powertrain from the previous season.
After failing to pass scrutineering of their new drivetrain for the first two races, Trulli withdrew from the championship, leaving 9 teams to compete for the rest of the season.
Karun Chandhok, Jaime Alguersuari and Jarno Trulli who raced for Mahindra, Virgin and Trulli respectively in the 2014–15 season, announced that they would not compete in 2015–16.
1997 Formula One World Champion Jacques Villeneuve joined Venturi, replacing Nick Heidfeld, who moved to Mahindra.
Jean-Éric Vergne who competed part-time for Andretti during the 2014–15 season moved to Virgin for a full-time drive, replacing Jaime Alguersuari.
Simona de Silvestro joined the Andretti team, replacing the DS Virgin-bound Jean-Eric Vergne.
2012 Formula Renault 3.5 champion Robin Frijns joined the series, driving for Andretti.
Salvador Durán who competed for Amlin Aguri during the 2014–15 season joined the Trulli team, replacing Jarno Trulli.
Oliver Turvey, who raced for Team China in the London round of the 2014–15 season, now races with the team full-time.
GP2 Series veteran Nathanaël Berthon has secured the second Team Aguri seat.
Following a hand injury sustained in Putrajaya, Nick Heidfeld was forced to miss the next round in Punta del Este. He was replaced by reigning Formula Renault 3.5 champion Oliver Rowland.
After three rounds with the Venturi team, Jacques Villeneuve left due to a "disagreement on the direction of the team". His seat was taken by Mike Conway.
After three rounds Salvador Durán re-joined Team Aguri for the rest of the season after they split with Nathanaël Berthon. The Mexican driver already competed in nine rounds of the first season for Team Aguri. After another three rounds, he was replaced by Chinese driver Ma Qing Hua for the Paris ePrix. Ma then competed in the Berlin ePrix and the two races of the London ePrix.
Due to a DTM commitment, António Félix da Costa missed round 8, but returned for the London ePrix. His replacement was endurance racer René Rast.
The rules were opened up for the second season, in keeping with the series' long-term plan to use a single car over the course of a race instead of two separate chassis. Teams are free to pursue their own development of the powertrain, including the e-motor, inverter, gearbox and cooling system.
The maximum power usage during the race was increased from 150 kW to 170 kW. The total allowed energy consumption from the battery remains limited at 28 kWh.
The season was scheduled to include 11 races, held between October 2015 and July 2016. The final calendar was approved by the World Motor Sports Council in October. However, in May 2016, the Moscow ePrix was cancelled "due to recent and unforeseen circumstances related to road closures", reducing the season to 10 races.
The Miami ePrix was dropped after the first season. The Monaco ePrix does not feature in this season's calendar, but might return the following season.
The Mexico City ePrix (the first race on a permanent racing circuit) and the Paris ePrix are new additions to the calendar.
The Berlin ePrix is moved from Tempelhof Airport to the center of Berlin.
The Moscow ePrix was cancelled in mid-season.
Notes
Championship standings
Points system
Championship points are awarded as follows:
Unlike the previous season, all results count towards the total.
Notes
† – Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed more than 90% of the race distance.
Notes
† – Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed more than 90% of the race distance.
