Da Costa is simply too good for electric rivals
DS Techeetah was Jean-Eric Vergne’s team. A double Formula E champion with the squad, it was he who D scored the lion’s share of points to deliver the teams’ crown last season. It was he who had courted Andre Lotterer to join the operation for two campaigns. And when Lotterer moved to Porsche, it was again Vergne who had to find a replacement. The driver he met over coffee at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2019 to fill the vacancy was Antonio Felix da Costa.
Two good pals, they would work together to replicate the harmonious atmosphere forged by the Lotterer-Vergne partnership. Having raced under the squad’s former Aguri guise, da Costa was known to team principal Mark Preston, even if during those two seasons he struggled to show his flair thanks to the sub-par car, and only achieved eighth and 13th in the points.
Vergne, an eight-time FE race winner by the end of 2018-19, would help da Costa get up to speed after a delayed exit from BMW Andretti meant he couldn’t officially join DS Techeetah until the eve of pre-season testing. Vergne would lead the team.
Neither scenario would transpire, however. Although both remain supportive, it’s been a fractious year. Vergne was branded a “f*****g idiot” when he blocked da Costa in Santiago as he tried to knock off damaged bodywork. At the next race in Mexico, again the pair stumbled over one another at the expense of a double podium.
From the following race in Marrakech, it’s been Vergne forced to play second fiddle. In a title fight that was meant to follow FE
