Antonio Felix da Costa heading to Jaguar TCS Racing is up there as one of the most intriguing driver and manufacturer pair-ups in Formula E history.
On one level da Costa has nothing to prove. On the other he has everything to prove.
On the first statement the 2019-20 has done it all. Won races, thrived at manufacturers (BMW and DS), won as an underdog (Amlin Aguri), completed successful double-programmes (in DTM and WEC) and established himself as one of the very best and most engaging drivers outside of F1.
On the second point he comes to Jaguar a bit bruised by his time at Porsche. There was a prickly relationship with the management, a clash of his working culture with theirs and at first tetchy then doomed relationship with his teammate Pascal Wehrlein. Don’t forget too that da Costa was also beaten in each of his three seasons by the 2024 champion.
But da Costa now feels like a much more liberated soul and one that will hit the ground running at the Big Cat. But it won’t be easy. Learning a new manufacturers ways takes time and da Costa knows he has a lot of hard work to activate and a lot of information to digest prior to the season opener at Sao Paulo in December.
Almost three years ago now Nick Cassidy was in a similar situation. He had apprehension coming in to Jaguar, although he had a significant springboard in knowing the car via his excellent 2023 season at Envision.
Speaking to Formula E Notebook prior to his official announcement as Mitch Evans’ teammate, da Costa outlined his challenge ahead.
“When I joined DS from BMW, I think I got a podium in my third race as well, and I went on to win the championship that year,” he said.
“But it’s a little bit more complicated than that, and it depends on how much time we get with the team before we actually get going.
“I think Nick obviously did an amazing job with these guys, but he was also coming from a Jaguar car (Envison Jaguar). He literally changed colours and staff, but the car was exactly the same.
“So, I’m having to learn a completely new car. Every buttons changed position, there’s bits and bobs on different software, so it’s a massive change. We can’t underestimate that but I was conscious of what Mitch has told me in advance.”
Da Costa will call upon his experience of shifting manufacturer, from BMW to DS and then DS to Porsche to ensure he maximises his time around the team and his new surroundings in the cockpit.
“Look, we’ve got a complex car, and so Porsche,” he says.
“I feel like my brains on a little bit of an overload. If I very, very smart, I’d probably be a lawyer or a banker. I can drive quick, but my brain has got its limitations but the engineers and everybody have been super helpful and I know this is part of this challenge.
“I’ve really missed the feeling of getting a flight today and I go to work, pack my bags, and get on a plane, go to the sim or to whatever it is. I’m doing that with excitement again, and I’ve really, really missed it.”
‘Rock Star’ Evans already helping
Da Costa and Evans have been firm friends since 2011 when they were rivals when they both endured difficult first GP3 seasons together. A year later and they were title rivals with the Kiwi just winning out.
Since then, they have stayed close and have indeed become business partners with the Apex Capital company advising and managing athlete’s financial investments the world over.
“He’s almost furniture of this team, and that’s very important,” says da Costa.
“But the biggest thing for me, and what really helps me take a massive load off my shoulders, is Mitch has been like, ‘hey, man, do you want me to come in the sim with you and help you understand our systems, help you understand our car? I can help you understand, meet the people and how things work.’
“He’s been a rock star in helping me find my feet in the sim but it is super early days, it is literally last week was my first week, and this week we came back to do some pictures and shake down the cars and finally got to be with Mitch.
“Every time I’ve got a question, he’s got an answer for me, and I haven’t had that in a while from a teammate. That’s a massive plus for me.”
