Wehrlein's Porsche "undriveable" early on in Portland, Felix da Costa triumphs again: "Didn't expect it!"

The mood on both sides of the Porsche pit could not have been more different at the Formula E weekend in Portland: While Antonio Felix da Costa unexpectedly celebrated his third win in four races, Pascal Wehrlein missed the chance to capitalise on Jaguar's misfires to catch up in the championship battle. The reason for this was apparently damage to the car, as he revealed.

The race had started well for the German. He was able to make up a few places on the first lap and catch up with his team-mate Antonio Felix da Costa, which allowed the two of them to work together in the slipstream chaos. In a wild exchange of places, they also repeatedly made guest appearances in the top positions. However, Wehrlein then fell further and further back in the top 10 and also seemed to use up more energy than the competition.

"It looked pretty good until I drove over a piece of debris early in the race," explained the 29-year-old on TV shortly after the race. "It got stuck under my car and had obviously hit something at the front. As a result, I lost quite a lot of braking performance and power also. The car was no longer drivable early on in the race. That was just bad luck."

After today's race, this seems particularly bitter, as the door was wide open in the championship battle. Because his two closest rivals from Jaguar - Nick Cassidy and Mitch Evans - lost out. Cassidy dropped out of the points after a self-inflicted driving error and Evans was penalised after a collision. If Wehrlein had been as strong as team-mate Felix da Costa, he could have made up a double-digit number of points on the New Zealanders.

"Personally, I'm a bit disappointed about the missed opportunity, but there wasn't much I could do about it," he continues.

Felix da Costa: "Know exactly how it feels when someone takes a win away from you"

In the neighbouring box, it was the exact opposite: the big beneficiary of the Jaguar mistakes was Felix da Costa. At the start of the second-to-last lap, he was still in third place. Just seconds later, he won Saturday's race as if out of nowhere.

"I didn't expect to win today," said Felix da Costa after the race. "It's always difficult against two drivers from the same team working together. I just wanted to finish a clean race. But we were able to put the Jaguars under pressure and Nick made a mistake. Then Mitch got a penalty and suddenly we win."

 

 

 

 

 

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On Saturday, Felix da Costa was lucky to take the win, but he has already been denied one this season - at the Misano E-Prix. He therefore pays tribute to Evans. "Mitch won the race on the track today and I know exactly how it feels when someone takes a win away from you. After this season, I will no longer take a win or podium for granted."

The Portuguese driver once again proved his strong form and celebrated his third win in four races. His next opportunity to stand at the top will be on Sunday. However, the goal is more holistic: "We want to catch Jaguar in the team championship, we are currently leading the manufacturers' standings already," says Felix da Costa.