Antonio Felix Da Costa scored a dramatic victory in race one of the Portland ePrix double-headers at Portland International Raceway on Saturday, round 13 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship.
Nick Cassidy was leading on the final lap when an unforced error caused him to lose the lead, drastically altering the race’s outcome. Speaking following the action, TAG-Heuer Porsche Formula E driver, Antonio Felix Da Costa commented saying:
I’m super happy obviously. We knew the type of racing we were going to get, and everybody is getting super good at it. The race was never flat out, because everybody was pushing so hard to be at the front that it’s hard to build up buffer to be flat out eventually. I’ve been on the other side of the of the coin on this one so yeah, just a great momentum to be honest. I’m just really happy with how it’s going.
“Ive had bad times in my career before, I think what I had the beginning of this year was probably a bit more extreme. You know everybody wanted to go in the same direction for us to be able to come out of the slump. I knew we were gonna be able to make it, it’s just not nice when you’re there. I’ve had this before and obviously we went from one extreme to another, which is nice. I’ve learned a lot about myself, about people, about sports, about everything. I think when you have bad times and you take the good stuff out of it you become a little bit stronger. Everyone here has been up and down in their life at some point, it’s racing so that’s why I will never take it for granted. I’ll celebrate because I know how hard it is to win these days, so yeah I’ll definitely take this one!”
Envision Racing’s Robin Frijns came home in second place and speaking following the race he commented saying:
We were always up front, and that was the goal. I think the strategy calls we made in the background were really good, the team really helped me to stay where I was and to finish where I was. I’m happy with the race, I just missed that little edge on set-up which I think we can improve tomorrow, but we’re here to fight and we’ll fight another day tomorrow.
“We’ve been in a bit of a downward spiral recently which has been tough for the team, and for the drivers as well. We have a good car underneath us and we are quick in free practices most of the time, but in the races we’ve had bad luck, punctures and things. Now finally, something came together, we have a podium and we can celebrate, and hopefully another one tomorrow.”
DS Penske’s Jean-Eric Vergne was third and speaking following the action he said:
“I’m really happy finishing third, but today starting where I started at the back I’m very happy with how the race went. I think it was very good and for the team Penske and on the home side of Jay [Penske] so I’m happy to bring him a podium today and those are good points for the team championship, so it was a good day. It started quite bad in qualifying, but I’m happy to have such a come back in the race.”
Mahindra Racing’s Edoardo Mortara came home in fourth place just ahead of Nico Mueller ahead of Andretti Global’s Jake Dennis who rounded out the top six just ahead of Neom McLaren’s Sam Bird who commented following the race saying:
That’s race one in the books here in Portland. I’m happy that I have been able to score points today for the NEOM McLaren Formula E Team; I think we executed a strong race. We probably could’ve gotten a bit more out of today – at one point we were running in P2.
“We’ve learnt a lot ready for tomorrow’s race and I hope we can score some more good points then.
Mitch Evans was eighth, just ahead of Stoffel Vandoorne, while Pascal Wehrlein rounded out the top ten for the TAG-HEUER Porsche Formula E Team. Lucas Di Grassi was 11th, just ahead of Nyck De Vries, while Norman Nato was 13th, just ahead of Sergio Sette Camara and Sacha Fenestraz.
Jehan Daruvala was 16th just ahead of Dan Ticktum and Caio Colett. Nick Cassidy was 18th, just ahead of Sebastien Buemi while Jake Hughes was 21st. Speaking following the action he said:
Today started out positively, but ended up not being as good in terms of results and points – at least on my side of the garage. The whole team, including everyone here at track and in Bicester and Woking, did a good job. They gave me a car that was capable of challenging for pole position and ultimately starting on the front row.
“For the first five laps of the race, everything was going to plan. I was running at the front of the grid, at times in the lead. Unfortunately, I was hit by another car which resulted in a puncture and essentially finished my race. I was nearly one lap down and didn’t score any points.
“However, we have to take solace from the fact that the car was quick, I was competitive at the front of the race while that lasted, and I’ll take that into tomorrow.”
NEOM McLaren Team Principal Ian James said:
Although the result of today’s race is frustrating, given that both Jake and Sam were at the sharp end during different stages, it’s worth reflecting on how far we have come since we last raced here in Portland. The positives include another strong qualifying for Jake and a great battle through the field for Sam.
“However, when we know that we have the potential to go for the podium we can’t be satisfied with a handful of points. The team is already working hard on preparations for tomorrow. We’ll need to qualify well with both cars and then use the experience and expertise within the team to achieve a strong result.”
Maximillian Gunther was the only retirement from the race. Round 14 takes place on Sunday.