António Félix da Costa secured DS Techeetah's first win of the season in race 2 of the eP New York, and, still without a contract for next year, he let loose a pinprick in the interview before the podium
António Félix da Costa finally won his first race in the Formula E 2022 season on Sunday (17), by holding off the pressure of Stoffel Vandoorne and crossing race 2 of the New York eP in first place. Besides his first win of the season, it was also his debut on top of the podium in Brooklyn and the first for DS Techeetah this year. After the race, the Portuguese driver didn't hide his relief, and even let out a pinprick to his critics.
"It's amazing to win here, where I've already been second and third," said Da Costa, who took advantage of the victory to let out a slight vent afterwards. "Especially considering where we came from. But I love to fight and work to get better, to show everyone that they are wrong about me. It feels amazing to win again. Thanks to everyone, who has been giving us the fanboost in every race," thanked the Portuguese.
Da Costa's "letting off steam" has an explanation: the driver still has no contract with any team to remain in Formula E next year. The future of Techeetah is still uncertain after the end of the partnership with DS - which closed a deal with Penske for next year and will bring Jean-Èric Vergne to make a strong duo with Stoffel Vandoorne -, and the Portuguese driver is still looking for a team to drive next year.
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Da Costa was even involved in talks about a possible move to Porsche, which will lose André Lotterer - the German will focus on endurance racing - and is looking for a partner for Pascal Wehrlein. However, nothing has been agreed so far.
The Portuguese driver was under strong pressure from Vandoorne at the end of the race, when the Belgian was trying to take the lead to avoid the threat of Mitch Evans. However, he managed to hold off the championship leader and secured the first victory of the year for both him and the team.
"I had to fight hard," stated Da Costa. "I didn't have much information about how we were in power, but I was prepared to fight. With ten laps to go, I saw that I could keep him [Vandoorne] behind me," finished the driver.
Formula E now returns only at the end of the month. The eP London double round, the penultimate round of the championship, is scheduled to take place on July 30 and 31.