Drugovich apologises to Felix da Costa after collision in Miami Formula E race: "I messed up"

For Felipe Drugovich and Antonio Felix da Costa, the Saturday of the Formula E race in Miami got off to a promising start: The Brazilian in the Andretti got into the qualifying duels for the first time in his young Formula E career and made it through to the final. Here he lost out to Porsche driver Nico Müller, meaning he started the race from second on the grid. Felix da Costa started directly behind the Brazilian. However, a late mistake by Drugovich dashed the podium hopes of both drivers. Nevertheless, there is no bad blood between the two.

Felipe Drugovich and Antonio Felix da Costa had a good start to the race in Miami and were able to stay in the leading group for a long time. Together with Nico Müller, they repeatedly took turns at the front of the field. For a long time, it looked like there was a good chance of a podium finish for both drivers.

However, after around two thirds of the race distance, on lap 26, the Brazilian made a serious mistake that ruined the promising result for both drivers: lying in fifth place behind Felix da Costa, Drugovich drove at too high a speed into turn 13. He tried to swerve to the right into the gap between the wall and the Jaguar car - but to no avail, he drove into the rear of it. The Portuguese driver spun due to the contact, but was able to continue despite minor damage.

Felix da Costa: "This is part of racing"

An Instagram story from Felix da Costa after the race shows Drugovich explaining to the Portuguese driver that he thought he would take the corner differently than he did in the end. Speaking to Racingnews365, the Andretti driver expanded on this explanation: "I thought he was going to go to the inside, obviously, because he was braking a bit earlier than me. And so I tried to poke my nose on the inside, catch a bit and then go to the outside, but he just stayed on the outside. And then last moment, I just locked up. I tried to avoid him."

Felix da Costa understands the situation: "The only way to avoid it is for him to brake a little bit earlier. We’re racing hard and very close to each other, and this is part of racing."

Drugovich's customer Porsche had to get a new front wing after the collision, which caused him to drop back a long way. He returned to the track in 17th position and received a ten-second time penalty and a penalty point on his racing licence for the collision. Drugovich finished the race outside the points in 18th place, while Felix da Costa still managed to score four points with his eighth place finish.

Drugovich: "I am really sorry"

After the race, Drugovich personally apologised to Felix da Costa for the contact. An Instagram story from the Portuguese rider shows Drugovich approaching Felix da Costa after the race and apologising to him: "I am really sorry. I messed up," he can be heard saying. Drugovich also comments on the incident under his Instagram post about the race: "Apologies to Antonio Felix da Costa for the contact, I misjudged the grip. But well, let's take the positives and head to Jeddah!"

The next Formula E racing action will be at the Jeddah E-Prix. The double-header in Saudi Arabia takes place on 13 and 14 February.