Reigning Champion da Costa Takes Portugal on Formula E Ride

On Saturday, the 2019/2020 champion of the ABB FIA Formula E championship, Antonio Felix da Costa, took the streets of Lisbon, Portugal, behind the wheel of his DS E-TENSE FE20.

The 29-year-old celebrated in style his first championship in the all-electric racing series – reached last August, with an exhibition on home soil.

The 2019/2020 season also marked da Costa debut with DS TECHEETAH, joining double champion and new teammate Jean-Eric Vergne.

“It’s taken some time for this season to land but now that it has, I feel nothing but pride for our achievement. And I say ours, because even though drivers are the ones in the limelight as we drive the cars, a victory comes from the whole team. To be able to bring this celebration to Portugal and to my hometown is incredibly special.

“Very few people get to do something like this and the support I’ve felt from all of Portugal has been a humbling experience and given me so much motivation to do it all over again.

“Portugal has been struggling as many others from the pandemic, so being able to bring a celebration that a championship win brings has been really good,” said the Portuguese native.

The Chinese team has achieved incredible success in the series, which from next season, becomes an official FIA world championship.

DS TECHEETAH is the only squad in the electric single-seater series to have secured both titles [Driver´s and Team´s championships] twice.

Overall, they have two Teams’ Championships and three Drivers’ Championships under their belt.

Vergne, who joined Techeetah to contest his third season in the series, would go on to win his first Formula E championship with Techeetah the following season, 2017/18, when crowned Champion in New York City.

Since then, the Chinese team has partnered with DS Automobiles; the French manufacturer has announced that starting in 2025, all new models from DS will be exclusively electric.

Coming Next: Season 7

Formula E is one of the most competitive racing series in the world, with a grid composed of high-level drivers and teams.

DS TECHEETAH now prepares for a fierce battle as teams are starting to test their challengers ahead of the upcoming season.

The 2020/2021 season of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship is set to begin early in January in Santiago, Chile, comprising a provisional calendar of fourteen rounds (one round is yet to be known) in twelve cities.

Antonio Félix da Costa, DS Techeetah, Berlin E-Prix 2020.

All in all, da Costa has started 65 races in Formula E with different teams – Team Aguri, Andretti Autosport, BMW i Andretti Motorsport, and DS Techeetah.

He claimed five victories, clinched four pole positions, and visited the podium on 11 occasions, sealing his maiden Driver´s championship at the Berlin Templehof Circuit, in Germany, where the intensive six-race grand finale took place.

“Since Antonio was crowned Formula E Champion in August, it’s been fantastic to see the overwhelming response from his home nation celebrating and acknowledging his biggest accomplishment. He is a truly deserving champion and a brilliant ambassador for Formula E and the wider motorsport community. 

“Portugal is a very exciting prospect for us and one we’re keen to explore, especially as I’m sure today has given Antonio a taste of what it could be like to drive in front of his home fans in the future,” stated Alberto Longo, Co-Founder & Chief Championship Officer of Formula E.

The door to a future Portugal E-Prix seems open to discussion.

In September, da Costa was honored by Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa with the Commander of the Order of Merit.

Images courtesy DS Techeetah and Formula E Media.