On the road to London: António Félix da Costa
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For season two António Félix da Costa elected to stay on with the Aguri squad and it soon became a season of ‘what if?’s for the Portuguese driver as reliability issues blighted any chance of a championship challenge. Despite running at the front on a number of occasions da Costa only lies 13th in the standings.
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With the team having stuck to season one technology, the opening round of season two promised much as the other teams were still getting on top of the new season two regulations. However, things didn’t exactly go to plan for da Costa, as a lowly 16th place on the grid left a lot of work for the Portuguese driver to do in the race. After working his way up into ninth, a collision with Jacques Villeneuve eliminated the Aguri car and put an end to a frustrating day for da Costa.
Putrajaya showed the potential of da Costa and Aguri as the Portuguese reached the Super Pole shootout and took fourth place on the grid, effectively promoted to third after Stephane Sarrazin encountered problems just before the start. da Costa kept pace with the leaders and threatened victory after jumping Loic Duval and Lucas di Grassi in the pitstops. It wasn’t to be, however, as mechanical gremlins shut the car off, forcing da Costa into resetting on track. The Aguri driver got going again and recovered to finish sixth, but this race was definitely one that could have seen the former Red Bull junior taking his second series win.
It was a quieter affair for da Costa in Punta del Este, with an eighth place grid slot converting into a second consecutive sixth place finish. The result wasn’t much to shout about considering the front running pace of Putrajaya, but the Portuguese driver can be grateful for an incident-free day to add to his point tally.
Buenos Aires could have given da Costa his best finish of the season so far with third place on the grid after once again reaching Super Pole.. Having moved up into second place, mechanical gremlins once again plagued the Aguri car, forcing da Costa into retirement on lap 17. Not only a blow to the Portuguese driver’s day, the championship was now reaching an unattainable level as da Costa lingered in the bottom half of the table despite threatening victory in two out of the four ePrix so far.
It was definitely a day to forget for da Costa in Mexico City. A new Gulf-inspired livery adorned the Aguri car, but results failed to please the new sponsor as 17th place on the grid was the first setback of the day. The race didn’t get much better as, while running 18th and last, an unforced error saw da Costa spin his rear end into the barrier while entering the stadium section.
Pole position for da Costa came out of nowhere in Long Beach, sending social media crazy as Team Aguri seemingly topped qualifying for the first time. However, celebrations were short lived as once again Formula E’s strict tyre pressure rules found his left rear to be 0.05 below the required pressure, forcing the Portuguese to start from the back. After a noticeable rise through the field to eighth, da Costa once again did not reach the finish line as his car let him down for a third time this season, with the Portguese driver disconsolately walking off in the pit lane.
Paris provided da Costa’s most entertaining driving yet this season, as the Portuguese driver became embroiled in a titanic battle with the Andretti of Robin Frijns for seventh place after starting tenth. Ultimately da Costa came through behind his Dutch rival, but enjoyed a return to the points after the disappointment of Long Beach.
da Costa was unable to participate in the Berlin ePrix due to his prior commitments in DTM. His replacement was local driver Rene Rast, who started the race in 13th but did not see the chequered flag.
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da Costa will return to the cockpit in London, where he will be hoping to put his obvious talent to good use and finally take a podium this season. Given the speed he has already shown, especially in Putrajaya and Long Beach, a clean weekend may well grant the Portuguese driver a result he deserves, but it remains to be seen whether the unforgiving Battersea Park circuit will make life difficult for da Costa.
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Main image courtesy of Rajan Jangda
Other images courtesy of FIA Formula E Media
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