2015–16 Formula E Championship Explained

The 2015–16 FIA Formula E Championship was the second season of the FIA Formula E championship, held from 24 October 2015 to 3 July 2016. The season saw seven new manufacturers, who were 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 the defending teams' champion. After ten rounds, Sébastien 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. Renault retained the teams' championship.

Teams and drivers

The second season was planned to again feature ten teams that were essentially identical from the inaugural season. But, the withdrawal of Trulli after failing to enter the first two races left nine teams competing for the 2015–16 season.^[1] Additionally, there were eight manufacturers of power trains that worked together with or were part of the individual teams. Initially only Team Aguri decided to keep the power train from the previous season, while Dragon used the Venturi power train. Due to the regulations, all teams used the same chassis as in the first season. The eight manufacturers were homologated by the FIA in August 2015.^[2] After troublesome preseason testing, Andretti decided to revert to the power train from the inaugural season.^[3] All teams used the mandated Spark chassis.

Team	Powertrain		Drivers	Rounds
	^[4]	1		All
		88	Oliver Turvey^[5]	All
		2	Sam Bird^[6]	All
		25	Jean-Éric Vergne	All
Venturi Formula E Team		4	Stéphane Sarrazin	All
		12		1–3
			Mike Conway^[7]	4–10
Dragon Racing		6	Loïc Duval^[8]	All
		7		All
Renault		8	Nicolas Prost	All
		9	Sébastien Buemi	All
Trulli Formula E Team		10	Salvador Durán^[9]	1‡
			Jarno Trulli^[10]	2‡
		18	Vitantonio Liuzzi	1–2‡
		11	Lucas di Grassi^[11]	All
		66	Daniel Abt^[12]	All
Mahindra Racing Formula E Team		21	Bruno Senna^[13]	All
		23	Nick Heidfeld	1–2, 4–10
			Oliver Rowland^[14]	3
Amlin Andretti Formula E Team		27	Robin Frijns^[15]	All
		28		All
Team Aguri		55		1–7, 9–10
			René Rast^[16]	8
		77	Nathanaël Berthon^[17]	1–3
			Salvador Durán^[18]	4–6
			Ma Qinghua^[19]	7–10
Source:

‡ Drivers were present at the first two rounds of the championship, but the team failed to pass scrutineering both times.

Team changes

• All ten teams from the first season intended to compete in season two, with some name changes due to sponsorship changes or manufacturer cooperations.^[2]
• Eight teams became manufacturers and produce components either by themselves or with a technology partner: Abt (with Schaeffler), Andretti, (with Renault) Mahindra, NEXTEV, Trulli (with Motomatica), Venturi, and Virgin (with DS Automobiles).^[2] On 25 August 2015, Andretti decided to retain the powertrain from the previous season.^[3]
• 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.

Driver changes

• 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.^{[20] [21] [22]}
• Formula One World Champion Jacques Villeneuve joined Venturi, replacing Nick Heidfeld, who moved to Mahindra.
• Jean-Éric Vergne, who joined Andretti mid-way through the 2014–15 season, moved to Virgin for a full-time drive, replacing Alguersuari.^[6]
• 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 champion Robin Frijns joined the series, driving for Andretti, replacing Vergne.^[15]
• Salvador Durán, who competed for Amlin Aguri during the 2014–15 season, joined the Trulli team, replacing Jarno Trulli.^[9]
• Oliver Turvey, who raced for Team China in the London round of the 2014–15 season, joined the team full-time.^[5]
• GP2 Series veteran Nathanaël Berthon was chosen for the second Team Aguri seat.^[17]

Mid-season changes

• 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.^[23]
• 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.^[24]
• 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.^[25] After another three rounds, he was replaced by Chinese driver Ma Qinghua for the Paris ePrix.^[19] 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 at Berlin, but returned for the London ePrix.^[26] His replacement was endurance racer René Rast.^[16]
• Due to a Super GT commitment, Oliver Turvey was set to be replaced by European Le Mans Series driver Ben Hanley at the Berlin ePrix.^[27] However, the Super GT event was postponed because of the Kumamoto earthquakes, and Turvey was reinstated into his NEXTEV TCR seat.^[28]

Rule changes

• 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 were free to pursue their own development of the powertrain, including the e-motor, inverter, gearbox and cooling system.^[29]
• The maximum power usage during the race was increased from 150kW to 170kW. The total allowed energy consumption from the battery remained limited to 28 kWh.^[30]

Calendar

The season was scheduled to include 11 races, held between October 2015 and July 2016. The final calendar was approved by the World Motor Sport Council in October 2015.^[31] 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.^[32]

Round	ePrix	Country	Track	Date
1	Beijing ePrix			24 October 2015
2	Putrajaya ePrix		Putrajaya Street Circuit	7 November 2015
3	Punta del Este ePrix		Punta del Este Street Circuit
4	Buenos Aires ePrix		Puerto Madero Street Circuit	6 February 2016
5	Mexico City ePrix		Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez	12 March 2016
6	Long Beach ePrix		Long Beach Street Circuit	2 April 2016
7	Paris ePrix	France	Paris Street Circuit	23 April 2016
8	Berlin ePrix		Berlin Street Circuit	21 May 2016
9			Battersea Park Street Circuit	2 July 2016
10	London ePrix Race 2			3 July 2016
Source:^[33]

Calendar changes

• The Miami ePrix was dropped after the first season. The Monaco ePrix did not feature in this season's calendar, but returned the following season.^[31]
• The Mexico City ePrix - the first race on a permanent racing circuit - and the Paris ePrix were new additions to the calendar.^[31]
• The Berlin ePrix moved from Tempelhof Airport to the city centre.^[34]
• The Moscow ePrix was cancelled in mid-season.^[32]

Race results

Round	Race	Pole position	Fastest lap	Winning driver	Winning team	Report
1	Beijing	Sébastien Buemi	Sébastien Buemi	Sébastien Buemi	Renault	Report
2	Putrajaya	Sébastien Buemi	Sébastien Buemi	Lucas di Grassi	ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport	Report
3	Punta del Este	Jérôme d'Ambrosio	Sébastien Buemi	Sébastien Buemi	Renault	Report
4	Buenos Aires	Sam Bird	Jérôme d'Ambrosio		DS Virgin Racing Formula E Team	Report
5	Mexico City	Jérôme d'Ambrosio	Nicolas Prost	Jérôme d'Ambrosio	Dragon Racing	Report
6	Long Beach	Sam Bird	Sébastien Buemi	Lucas di Grassi	ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport	Report
7	Paris	Sam Bird	Nick Heidfeld	Lucas di Grassi	ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport	Report
8	Berlin	Jean-Éric Vergne	Bruno Senna	Sébastien Buemi	Renault	Report
9	London	Nicolas Prost		Nicolas Prost	Renault	Report
10		Sébastien Buemi		Nicolas Prost	Renault e.Dams
Source:^[35]

Notes:

Championship standings

Points systemChampionship points are awarded as follows:

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	Pole
Points	25	18	15	12	10	8	6	4	2	1	3	2

Unlike the previous season, all results count towards the total.

Drivers' Championship

Driver BEI PUT PDE BUE MEX LBH PAR BER LDN valign=middle 1 Sébastien Buemi 1 12 1 2 2 16 3* 1* 5* Ret* 155 2 Lucas di Grassi 2 1 2 3* DSQ* 1* 1 3 4* Ret* 153 3 Nicolas Prost Ret 10 5 5 3 11 4 4 1 1 115 4 Sam Bird 7* 2 Ret* 1* 6 6 6 11 7 Ret 88 5 Jérôme d'Ambrosio 5 14† 3 16 1 7* 11 16 8 3 83 6 Stéphane Sarrazin 9 4 9* 4 9 2 5 10* 10 5* 70 7 Daniel Abt 11 7 8 13 7 3 10 2 Ret 2 68 8 Loïc Duval 4 16† 4 6 4 8 Ret* Ret Ret 4 60 9 Jean-Éric Vergne 12 Ret 7* 11* 16* 13 2* 5 3 8 56 10 Nick Heidfeld 3 9* 7 8 4* 12 7* 13* 7 53 11 Bruno Senna 13 5 Ret 10 10 5 9 15 2 6 52 12 Robin Frijns 10 3 10 8 5 15 7 6 Ret Ret 45 13 António Félix da Costa Ret 6 6 Ret Ret Ret 8 6 11 28 14 Oliver Turvey 6* Ret* 12 9 11 12 13 12 15† 10 11 15 Nelson Piquet Jr. 15†* 8* 15† 12 13 Ret Ret 13 12 9 8 16 Mike Conway 15 12 10 14 8 9 13 7 17 Nathanaël Berthon 8 15 14 4 18 Simona de Silvestro Ret 13 11 14 14 9 15 9 14 Ret 4 19 Ma Qinghua Ret 14 11 12 0 20 Jacques Villeneuve 14 11 DNS 0 21 Oliver Rowland 13 0 22 Salvador Durán DNP Ret 15* 14 0 23 René Rast NC 0 Vitantonio Liuzzi DNP DNP 0 Jarno Trulli DNP 0 valign=middle valign=middle Driver BEI PUT PDE BUE MEX LBH PAR BER LDN valign=middle Source:^[36]

Bold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap * – FanBoost

Notes:† – Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed more than 90% of the race distance.

Teams' Championship

Team BEI PUT PDE BUE MEX LBH PAR BER LDN Points 1 Renault 8 Ret 10 5 5 3 11 4 4 1 1 270 9 1 12 1 2 2 16 3* 1* 5* Ret* 2 ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport 11 2 1 2 3* DSQ* 1* 1 3 4* Ret* 221 66 11 7 8 13 7 3 10 2 Ret 2 3 DS Virgin Racing 2 7* 2 Ret* 1* 6 6 6 11 7 Ret 144 25 12 Ret 7* 11* 16* 13 2* 5 3 8 4 Dragon Racing 6 4 16† 4 6 4 8 Ret* Ret Ret 4 143 7 5 14† 3 16 1 7* 11 16 8 3 5 Mahindra Racing 21 13 5 Ret 10 10 5 9 15 2 6 105 23 3 9* 13 7 8 4* 12 7* 13* 7 6 Venturi 4 9 4 9* 4 9 2 5 10* 10 5* 77 12 14 11 DNS 15 12 10 14 8 9 13 7 Amlin Andretti 27 10 3 10 8 5 15 7 6 Ret Ret 49 28 Ret 13 11 14 14 9 15 9 14 Ret 8 Team Aguri 55 Ret 6 6 Ret Ret Ret 8 NC 6 11 32 77 8 15 14 Ret 15* 14 Ret 14 11 12 9 NEXTEV TCR 1 15†* 8* 15† 12 13 Ret Ret 13 12 9 19 88 6* Ret* 12 9 11 12 13 12 15† 10 Trulli 10 DNP DNP 0 18 DNP DNP Team BEI PUT PDE BUE MEX LBH PAR BER LDN Points Source:^[37]

Bold – Pole Italics – Fastest Lap * – FanBoost

Notes:† – Drivers did not finish the race, but were classified as they completed more than 90% of the race distance.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Trulli Formula E Team announce withdrawal from championship. 15 December 2015. fiaformulae.com. 15 December 2015. 22 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151222074432/http://fiaformulae.com/en/news/2015/december/trulli-announcement.aspx. dead.
2. Web site: FIA homologates manufacturers for second Formula E season. 2015-08-03. Formula E Holdings Limited. 2015-08-07. https://web.archive.org/web/20150822160741/http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2015/august/fia-homologates-manufacturers-for-second-formula-e-season.aspx. 2015-08-22. dead.
3. Web site: Andretti reverts to season one powertrain. 2015-08-27. fiaformulae.com. 2015-08-27. https://web.archive.org/web/20151031084345/http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2015/august/andretti-reverts-to-season-one-powertrain.aspx. 2015-10-31. dead.
4. News: Formula E targeting races without car changes by 2018/19 season. Watkins. Gary. 26 March 2015. Autosport. Haymarket. 26 March 2015.
5. Web site: Team China Racing confirms Oliver Turvey for Formula E season. Autosport. Mitchell. Scott. September 14, 2015. September 14, 2015.
6. Web site: DS Virgin Racing confirms Sam Bird and Jean-Eric Vergne. electricautosport.com. 2015-08-08.
7. Web site: Mike Conway to race for Venturi in Buenos Aires. Formula E. 22 January 2016. 22 January 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160124194826/http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2016/january/mike-conway-to-race-for-venturi-in-buenos-aires.aspx. 24 January 2016. dead. dmy-all.
8. Web site: Duval set to remain with Dragon Racing Formula E news Motorsport.com. Smith. Sam. Motorsport.com. 4 August 2015. 8 August 2015. 27 September 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150927204041/http://www.motorsport.com/formula-e/news/duval-set-to-remain-with-dragon-racing/. dead.
9. News: Durán signs with Trulli for season 2; will partner Liuzzi . Thorn . Laurence . 24 August 2015 . e-racing.net . e-racing.net . 24 August 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150923221250/http://www.e-racing.net/2015/08/24/duran-signs-with-trulli-for-season-2-will-partner-liuzzi/ . 23 September 2015 .
10. Web site: Malaysia Formula E: Jarno Trulli in for Salvador Duran in Putrajaya. Autosport. 6 November 2015. 6 November 2015.
11. Web site: Formula E championship leader Lucas di Grassi extends Abt deal. Autosport. 7 May 2015. 8 May 2015.
12. Web site: Daniel Abt extends deal with Audi Sport ABT. Formula E. 21 May 2015. 23 May 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150523031249/http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2015/may/daniel-abt-extends-deal-with-audi-sport-abt.aspx. 23 May 2015. dead. dmy-all.
13. News: Mahindra confirm Senna and Heidfeld for season two . Smith . Topher . 10 August 2015 . e-racing.net . e-racing.net . 10 August 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150927031918/http://www.e-racing.net/2015/08/10/mahindra-confirm-senna-and-heidfeld-for-season-two/ . 27 September 2015 .
14. News: Oliver Rowland replaces injured Heidfeld. fiaformulae.com. 4 December 2015. 4 December 2015. 12 December 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20151212171751/http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2015/december/oliver-rowland-replaces-injured-heidfeld.aspx. dead.
15. Web site: Andretti Formula E team welcomes Robin Frijns. Andretti Autosport. 17 September 2015. 17 September 2015.
16. News: Rast to debut at Berlin ePrix. Smith. Topher. 18 May 2016. e-racing.net. 18 May 2016.
17. News: Berthon secures second Aguri Formula E seat. Motorsport.com. 16 October 2015. 16 October 2015.
18. News: Salvador Duran joins Team Aguri. fiaformulae.com. 28 January 2016. 28 January 2016. 22 October 2022. https://web.archive.org/web/20221022171352/https://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2016/january/salvador-duran-joins-team-aguri.aspx/. dead.
19. News: Ma Qing Hua replaces Salvador Duran at Team Aguri. fiaformulae.com. 20 April 2016. 20 April 2016.
20. News: Chandhok Set to Walk away from Formula E. Giordmaina. Jack. 6 August 2015. Formula E Zone. 6 August 2015.
21. News: Alguersuari Rules Himself out of Virgin Drive. Giordmaina. Jack. 6 August 2015. Formula E Zone. 6 August 2015.
22. News: Trulli steps aside from driving duties. Thorn. Laurence. 24 August 2015. e-racing.net. e-racing.net. 24 August 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150923221253/http://www.e-racing.net/2015/08/24/trulli-steps-aside-from-driving-duties/. 2015-09-23. dead.
23. News: Heidfeld replaced for Punta del Este. Waring. Bethonie. 4 December 2015. e-racing.net. 23 January 2016.
24. News: Conway to replace Villeneuve at Venturi. Grzelak. Antonia. 22 January 2016. e-racing.net. 23 January 2016.
25. Web site: Salvador Duran joins Team Aguri. fiaformulae.com. 28 January 2016. 28 January 2016. 3 February 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160203040246/http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2016/january/salvador-duran-joins-team-aguri.aspx. dead.
26. 724995450785435648. afelixdacosta. @RFrijns too bad i miss the next 2!.... 26 April 2016.
27. Web site: Ben Hanley gets Formula E call-up. Eurosport. 17 March 2016. 7 September 2023.
28. Web site: Turvey reinstated for Berlin Formula E race. Klein. Jamie. 2 May 2016. motorsport.com. https://web.archive.org/web/20171107020346/https://www.motorsport.com/formula-e/news/turvey-reinstated-for-berlin-formula-e-race-732973/. 7 November 2017. live. 6 April 2017. dmy-all.
29. News: Alejandro Agag fan Q&A – Part 1 . FIA Formula E . 29 September 2014 . 24 February 2015 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20150224144333/http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/video/archive/guide-to-formula-e/alejandro-agag-fan-qa-part-1.aspx . 24 February 2015 .
30. Web site: Race mode power hike for season two. fiaformulae.com. 2015-09-11. 2015-09-11. https://web.archive.org/web/20150913012258/http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2015/september/race-mode-power-hike-for-season-two.aspx. 2015-09-13. dead.
31. News: Updated Formula E calendar and rules for season 2. Biesbrouck. Tim. Electric Autosport. 1 October 2015. 1 October 2015.
32. Web site: Formula E will not race in Moscow on June 4. fiaformula.com. 6 May 2016.
33. Web site: 2015–16 FIA Formula E Championship . formulae.com . 2015-08-07 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141228002842/http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/calendar.aspx . 2014-12-28 .
34. Web site: New central location for Berlin ePrix. fiaformulae.com. 15 February 2016. 16 February 2016. 1 July 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20170701004432/http://www.fiaformulae.com/en/news/2016/february/new-central-location-for-berlin-eprix.aspx. dead.
35. Web site: Formula E Results 2015. Motorsport Stats. 13 August 2022.
36. Web site: Driver Standings. FIA Formula E. 13 August 2022.
37. Web site: Team Standings. FIA Formula E. 13 August 2022.