Formula E News: Da Costa wins confusing Portland E-Prix
António Félix da Costa demonstrated remarkable composure and skill to secure a victory at the Hankook Portland E-Prix – Round 13 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship. A late unforced error by current World Championship leader Nick Cassidy saw the Jaguar TCS Racing driver slip from the lead in the penultimate lap, dramatically altering the race outcome.
Initially, Cassidy and Jaguar appeared poised for a decisive win at the Portland International Raceway. The New Zealander took the lead on Lap 23, with four laps remaining and seemed set for victory. His teammate, Mitch Evans, despite a five-second penalty for an early collision, played the perfect supporting role. Evans overtook da Costa – Cassidy’s nearest challenger – to secure what seemed like a sure one-two finish for Jaguar.
Cassidy maintained control, pulling half-a-second ahead of Evans and da Costa. However, once again, the race was further proof that nothing in Formula E is certain until the checkered flag is waved. In an out-of-character moment, Cassidy misjudged Turn 11, taking too much curb, which sent his I-TYPE 6 off the asphalt and across the grass, dropping him to 19th place.
This error handed the victory to da Costa, who now boasts three wins from the last four races and back-to-back victories. The race, the fastest in Formula E history with an average speed of 152.041 km/h (94.474 mph), cements da Costa’s position as the current man to beat. His stellar performance highlights a dramatic turnaround from a challenging start to the season.
Jean-Éric Vergne of DS PENSKE finished third, followed by Mahindra Racing’s Edoardo Mortara in fourth – a season-best result for both the team and the driver. Nico Müller (ABT CUPRA) impressed with a fifth-place finish after a race-long battle at the front, ahead of reigning World Champion Jake Dennis, who finished sixth on home soil for Andretti Formula E.
Sam Bird made a remarkable recovery from 19th to finish seventh, while Evans, after serving his penalty, crossed the line in eighth. DS PENSKE’s Stoffel Vandoorne and TAG Heuer Porsche’s Pascal Wehrlein rounded out the top ten. Cassidy’s late error allowed Wehrlein to reduce Cassidy’s lead in the standings to 24 points, with Evans trailing by an additional three points in third place.
In the Manufacturers’ Championship, TAG Heuer Porsche closed the gap, following Jaguar TCS Racing by 55 points, with a current standing of 370 points to 354.
Round 14 of Season 10 is set to continue at Portland International Raceway tomorrow on Sunday, June 30. Tickets are still available for those who want to experience all of the action, with the Round 14 race starting at 2 PM local time.
António Félix da Costa, No. 13, Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E, said:
“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!”
Robin Frijns, No. 4, Envision Racing, said:
“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.”
Jean-Éric Vergne, No. 25, DS PENSKE, 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.”