"Such a bad loser!" - Rowland knocks Felix da Costa and himself out of Formula E's championship battle

The last hopes that Oliver Rowland and Antonio Felix da Costa had of winning the Formula E title before Saturday's race in London are gone. A collision in the early stages of the E-Prix meant the end of the race for the Portuguese driver and no chance of points for Rowland. Felix da Costa is frustrated and disappointed by the notorious driving style of the Nissan driver.

In the sixth lap, Felix da Costa set off on an overtake: In the penultimate corner, the sixth-placed driver was able to squeeze past Rowland, who was driving in front of him, with slight contact. The Briton, who now had the inside lane, did not take this lying down and braked late. Too late to avoid the Porsche or even come close to rounding the corner.

TWO CHAMPIONSHIP CONTENDERS IN THE WALL ?

Rowland puts da Costa in the wall at the final corner, ending the @PorscheFormulaE driver's title hopes for Season 10.@Hankook_Sport #LondonEPrix pic.twitter.com/Y9Pr4soEok

- Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) July 20, 2024

Felix da Costa rails against aggressive Rowland

The suspension of Felix da Costa's Porsche broke, and both fell far back behind the field as they tried to get the damaged cars going again. Felix da Costa headed straight for the pits and parked his car. He immediately vented his frustration on the radio: "This guy is such a bad loser! Such a bad loser!"

According to e-Formula.news, he elaborated on his resentment: "I know he's an aggressive driver and I don't mind, but just ramming people off the track is not okay." For Felix da Costa, the full focus is now on the manufacturers' championship and the drivers' title for team-mate Pascal Wehrlein: "Pascal had a great day and has put himself within reach of the title. I have to be there tomorrow to support him."

Rowland does not blame himself alone

The blame for the collision was officially placed on Rowland: he received a time penalty from the race stewards. However, the Nissan driver himself does not see much that he could have done better: "Antonio touched me in turn 19 and pushed me out quite far. That's why I was roughly next to him for turn 20. He then turned in, which was good, but didn't leave me much room. The contact then ripped the steering wheel out of my hands and we both drove into the wall," Rowland told e-Formula.news.

While the race continued for Rowland, he spent most of the time trailing the field. "I didn't see much of the race," he said. "I only had three laps of action." Nevertheless, he didn't seem frustrated and instead talked about his goals for the season finale on Sunday: "I'll just try to drive a good race. Our pace was good this morning." The title chase for him in the drivers' championship might be over, but fourth place in the teams' championship is still within reach for Nissan: The Japanese team is just twelve points behind Andretti.