‘Super excited’ Da Costa vows the best is yet to come after second successive podium

Antonio Felix Da Costa says he is already feeling very much at home in his new DS TECHEETAH team after storming to second place in Mexico City, a repeat of what he achieved in Chile.

And, after another superb display of race craft from his starting grid position of tenth, the Portuguese hinted that it could be just the start of something special in 2020 as he sits third in the drivers’ standings, only eight points behind leader Mitch Evans with four rounds completed.

“It’s been good to have two podiums in a row but I’ve made it more difficult for myself than it needs to be,” said Da Costa. “The race was super fun and the team did an amazing job backstage and managed the energy really well, and I’m super happy with that. It’s only the beginning and I’m feeling better and better with the team every time and I’m excited for the future.”

During the race, Da Costa found himself fighting it out with teammate Jean Eric Vergne for podium places. And in a sensible use of team orders, the reigning champion ceded position to give the quicker Da Costa the best opportunity of the race win.

“Both me and JEV planned the race really well and we both came through the field,” added Da Costa. “We played a bit of a team game out there, but our engineers knew what they were doing. I was quicker than him and he made it easy for me to overtake and chase Seb [Buemi]. So fair play to him!

“The team in Paris deserves a massive shout out for all the work they have done so far this season. We have a great team and they never stop working.”

It already appears that Da Costa is living up to his pre-season goals of fighting it out for race wins and even the championship title in 2020, exactly why he made the tough decision to move from BMW i Andretti to join DS TECHEETAH in the first place.

Antonio Felix da Costa celebrates another second place finish on the podium for DS TECHEETAH in Mexico City

Fraser Masefield

Sports news and features writer, web editor and author.