Delight for Da Costa as former champion bounces back with tenth career triumph in China

Season 6 champion celebrates second victory in three races with peerless performance in Shanghai.

António Félix da Costa raced to a commanding tenth career victory in the second Shanghai E-Prix today (26 May), as the TAG Heuer Porsche star bounced back from Saturday disappointment for Sunday success in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship in China.

Da Costa took the chequered flag fifth yesterday, but a penalty for contact subsequently dropped him outside of the points. Twenty-four hours later, the Season 6 champion reacted in fine style.

From third on the grid, da Costa settled immediately into the leading pack while simultaneously taking care to conserve energy. Going onto lap nine, he pulled out of the slipstream of Norman Nato (Andretti Formula E) to snatch the top spot for the first time, before swiftly activating Attack Mode. 

That demoted the Portuguese ace to third behind Nato and NEOM McLaren Formula E Team’s Jake Hughes, but only momentarily, and having deployed his remaining Attack Mode, he re-seized the initiative shortly after mid-distance. He would never again be headed, duly chalking up his second triumph of the 2023/24 campaign.

Pole-sitter Hughes shadowed da Costa all the way to the flag as the Briton cemented his maiden podium finish in the all-electric single-seater series. The McLaren driver conceded the advantage at lights-out to Stoffel Vandoorne (DS Penske), but he was a consistent factor throughout the E-Prix, engaging in a number of side-by-side battles and overhauling Nato on lap 19 to make second place his own.

The Frenchman – who spent plenty of time at the front of the field – celebrated a rostrum return for the first time since Rome towards the end of last season, rising from seventh on the grid and posting fastest lap for good measure.

Nick Cassidy finished fourth for Jaguar TCS Racing to almost double his championship lead to 25 points with just four races of the campaign remaining. The New Zealander incurred front wing damage following contact with Hughes in Turn One, after which he elected to take no risks – especially with chief title rival Pascal Wehrlein (TAG Heuer Porsche) failing to score due to a puncture picked up in a clash with McLaren’s Sam Bird.

Saturday winner Mitch Evans crossed the line behind his Jaguar stablemate in fifth to climb to third in the chase for the crown, only ten points adrift of Wehrlein, with Vandoorne leading his own team-mate Jean-Éric Vergne home in sixth and seventh respectively, as the DS Penske duo struggled to match the outright pace.

Maximilian Günther wound up eighth for Maserati MSG Racing ahead of Robin Frijns, who scythed his way from 20th on the grid up to ninth, with Nissan’s Oliver Rowland stealing tenth from countryman Jake Dennis (Andretti) in the closing stages to push the defending champion out of the points-paying positions.

Former title-winner Nyck de Vries (Mahindra Racing) looked revitalised by his race-leading performance and seventh-place finish on Saturday as he again featured up at the sharp end, but contact with Bird dashed his hopes of a second consecutive points haul and left the Dutchman a frustrated 16th in the final classification.

The campaign continues with a trip to the Pacific Northwest city of Portland, Oregon (USA) for another double-header duel on 29-30 June.

António Félix da Costa, No. 13, Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E, said: “I’m super happy with the momentum that we’ve been able to build. It’s been a big run of races now since São Paulo, racing almost every two weeks, so we’ve been able to crack on and keep building a little bit more every weekend. We’ve had some sixth places, some fifth places and now we’ve had three wins in the last six or seven races so definitely good momentum. A real shame how the year started, plus that loss of win in Misano, but otherwise I think we’ve been having a run with a championship contending car and driver. I think Mitch [Evans] has got two victories, [Nick] Cassidy and Pascal [Wehrlein] are on a roll as well so obviously it shows that the Jags and the Porsches at these types of races, where efficiency is key, have a little bit of an edge on the others I think, and that’s good. Portland was one of my best weekends last year, I got a podium there as well. I love racing in the States. We always do a bit of a training camp before which last year I did with Norman and Stoffel in LA getting ready for the race and it paid off. I do enjoy racing in the States, I think they do it differently there, they do it well, and it’s gonna be fun.”

Jake Hughes, No. 5, NEOM McLaren Formula E Team, said: “It’s about time isn’t it! I think I approached the race quite differently today. I think it’s fair to say these pack races haven’t been kind to me and I haven’t helped the situation as well. I think I took a leaf a bit probably out of Ollie [Rowland]’s book today and just wanted to make sure I stayed near the front and that meant being quite aggressive and trying to make some moves and it paid off. It’s amazing how much easier the race felt driving like it did today. So it’s hopefully something we can continue.”

Norman Nato, No. 13, Andretti Formula E Team, said: “It’s been a long time since the last one! Honestly, I’m really happy that finally all the hard work paid off. To make it in Formula E you sometimes need to be patient. We kept looking back at mistakes we’ve made but today, a key part of my race was at the start. I knew it would be important to place myself at the front, and that’s easy to say but not always easy to do because it’s the same strategy for everyone now. You’re never sure of anything in Formula E but I think we are learning from the past [races] so that’s why it’s really important to enjoy the moment, because it’s also really good points for us. We’re getting to the end of the season pretty soon, so points are important. It’s a shame that we couldn’t share this podium with Jake as well, as he’s been having a really good season so far. It’s really important for the team championship that today we made a podium and hopefully we can do it again in Portland and in London.”