Formula E

Da Costa relieved to get second with damaged car

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Credit: Formula E

Antonio Felix da Costa was delighted to get his championship bid back on track after finishing second in the Mexico City ePrix.

After two non-points finishes the BMW i Andretti Motorsport driver had fallen away from the front of the standings, but now sits in second place only seven points off of leader Jerome d’Ambrosio.

And he managed to get his second podium of the season despite having damaged his steering in an incident early on in the race when trying to pass Sebastien Buemi.

Speaking afterwards he credited his strong finish with good energy management, after he identified that several of the drivers in front of him would struggle to get to the end.

“Ahead of the race weekend, I said that we need to give it our all here to pick up as many points as possible,” da Costa said.

“The fact that we managed second place will no doubt be great motivation for the entire team. I had a duel with Sébastien Buemi relatively early on in the race, during which I touched his car slightly. 

“After that my steering was skewed, which naturally put me at something of a disadvantage, so I simply maintained my position after that and saved energy.

“As the end of the race drew near it became clear that some of the cars in front of me might start having problems, so I waited for my chance – and then took it. I’m delighted with the podium.”

Team-mate Alexander Sims had a tougher time in Mexico however as he was wiped out early on by Nelson Piquet Jr.

While he was able to repair some of the damage to his car, it dropped him well down the order and he wasn’t able to recover as his car was still showing signs of damage.

“It isn’t the result that we had hoped for but it was out of our hands today,” Sims said.

“After Nelson Piquet Jr. hit my car the team’s reaction was fantastic and they got me back out on track as quickly as possible after the repairs.

“The car wasn’t working as well after that but I could still gain valuable experience and data. Those are the positives from today’s race.”

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Formula E writer for TCF since 2015-16 and fascinated by all things electric.
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