PORTLAND: In an exciting weekend, Antonio Felix da Costa scored a spectacular double victory for TAG Heuer Porsche in Portland and took his third consecutive victory in front of enthusiastic fans at the Hankook Portland E-Prix.
His triumph came amidst on-track drama that once again underlined the masterful race management by da Costa and TAG Heuer Porsche. The third consecutive victory means da Costa equalled his own record from 2019 for the longest winning streak in Formula E.
Round 14 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship was a defining moment of the season, with current championship leader Nick Cassidy of Jaguar TCS Racing failing to score points for the second race in a row. As a result, Mitch Evans and Pascal Wehrlein are now neck and neck in second place, setting the stage for a close showdown at the upcoming finale in London.
Joining da Costa on the podium was Robin Frijns, who celebrated his 100th Formula E race, scoring another podium finish for Envision Racing. Third place went to Mitch Evans for Jaguar TCS Racing. The race was full of key moments, including Pascal Wehrlein dramatically losing his front wing early on. Despite this setback, Wehrlein finished fourth, keeping his championship hopes alive.
NEOM McLaren and Mahindra Racing were less fortunate, suffering a series of retirements due to mistakes, punctures and on-track collisions.
Jean-Eric Vergne, who started from pole position, secured a solid fifth place for DS PENSKE, while ABT CUPRA’s Nico Muller finished in an impressive sixth place.
Norman Nato finished seventh for Andretti, followed by Maserati MSG Racing’s Maximilian Guenther in eighth. Sebastien Buemi finished ninth for Envision Racing, despite a penalty, ahead of reigning world champion Jake Dennis, who rounded out the top ten for Andretti Formula E.
As the championship heads to London, the fight for top spot is fiercer than ever, promising fans an exciting end to the season. The Hankook London E-Prix double-header season finale will take place on July 20-21.
António Felix da Costa, #13, Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E, said: “It’s crazy. I’m happy, I’m emotional, I’m angry, I’m everything. I’m happy to be riding this wave right now – I know it won’t last forever. I’ve been on it before, I’ve been off it before, so I’m just going to try to do everything right. I’m going to enjoy this moment. A lot of people in this world live by the motto of never giving up, but I think we’re going to reach a whole new level of this, to be honest!”
Robin Frijns, #4, Envision Racing, said: “Today was definitely a good way to bounce back. We had a tough period and I have to say the team did a great job. We prepared well for this race and we did it, so I’m really happy with second place. Unfortunately, we just missed out on the win – it was closer than yesterday, but with a double podium, I’ll take it. This season has been tough, I wanted to bounce back, I knew I could do it and I knew the team could do it, so here I am.
Mitch Evans, #9, Jaguar TCS Racing, said: “It’s nice after what happened yesterday, it’s hard for me to come to terms with it, I think it was a ridiculous decision. It was hard to take it in, so it’s nice to come back and get something today. We didn’t optimize qualifying on my side and the starting position wasn’t optimal in the second race, but it was a really close race. To get to the front, I had to attack again quite late, simply because of the way the race was going, and I had to use a lot of energy to make those high-target overtakes. I was an easy target at the end, but it gave me track position, so good points. Of course I would have liked to win, but after the safety car everything really accelerated and third place was the best we could achieve.
“Of course, what happened to Nyck is unfortunate.” [de Vries] but I came in this weekend just wanting to do my thing and see what happens. We will go to London near Pascal [Wehrlein] and it will be tight between us. Antoni [Felix da Costa] he must be close too, he has won every race – at least I think so – in the last half of the season. “It will definitely be a big fight between us and Porsche.”
2024 Hankook Portland E-Prix featuring local stars
Sung Kang, the renowned actor and car enthusiast best known for his role in the “Fast and Furious” series, returned to Portland International Raceway for the 14th round of the doubleheader weekend.
Kang was excited to reunite with driver Lucas di Grassi in the ABT garage, rekindling their camaraderie from the 2024 Tokyo E-Prix. Adding to the excitement was the fact that Kang reconnected with his friend and influencer Emilia Hartford, who brought hers to Portland full of energy, just like she did to Tokyo earlier in the season.
Meanwhile, the presence of three-time W Series champion and Andretti Global INDY NXT driver Jamie Chadwick was noteworthy as she supported other Andretti Global drivers and served as a driver analyst on the broadcast team.
Chadwick delivered an electrifying performance, driving a GEN3 Formula E car for the first time and reaching speeds of over 150 km/h. She also took racing legend and Andretti Global team owner Michael Andretti for a quick lap of the Porsche Taycan.
Additionally, Portland Thorns players Morgan Weaver and Olivia Moultrie enjoyed driver meetings and tours of the Andretti garage. Earlier this week, Portland Timbers players James Pantemis and Evander da Silva Ferreira toured the paddock, sat in the GEN3 car and met with drivers Sacha Fenestraz and Sergio Sette Camara from the Nissan Formula E Team and ERT Formula E Team.