The Jaguar TCS Racing duo finished today’s race at the Shanghai E-Prix very differently. After the race one of them was more than thrilled while the other was frustrated with his finish.
António Félix Da Costa did it again at the Shanghai E-Prix! The Portuguese driver secured a third podium finish at the Shanghai International Circuit. With that, Jaguar TCS Racing extended its lead in the teams standings by 24 points over Porsche after round 12 of the championship.
While his teammate Mitch Evans sits comfortably at the top of the drivers standings, Da Costa is right on his heels, just 21 points behind the Kiwi.
Da Costa on round 12 at Shanghai International Circuit
Da Costa started his Saturday in the back of the top 5. Nevertheless, this didn’t stop him from battling for the victory. He cleared Günther very early, climbing up the grid. He took his mandatory PITBOOST very efficiently, which boosted him to P2. Da Costa defended the second place well through ATTACK Mode and a slight Safety Car period as the weather conditions worsened at the circuit.
“That’s a solid day in the office! We did a good quali in the top five and were fighting for a win there. When the rain came we didn’t quite have enough, and it was a big question mark before this race to set up the car for the wet or the dry as we knew some rain was going to come. We kind of went half-way there and we’re not sure what the others did.”
Pascal Wehrlein was making it difficult for the Portuguese, confidently maintaining his pole-position in the last third of the race.
“We looked okay in the wet, the energy advantage we built against [Pascal] Wehrlein we weren’t able to use in the wet – everything just goes flat out and they had a bit more pace. Well done to Pascal and Porsche.”
Disappointed Evans frustrated after dropping down the grid
The Kiwi had a strong start, however, the odds were not in his favour. Earlier he had qualified second on the grid but throughout the session he couldn’t keep up. In the very beginning, Jake Dennis cleared him. Eventually, Evans dropped to the back of the top ten, fighting to climb up the grid. He finished his race on P8 securing four points. Following the race, the Kiwi reported that he was disappointed with today’s performance, eying tomorrow’s race-day.
“After almost putting the car on pole, clearly that was a disappointing race. From turn one I felt like I had very little grip, and it didn’t improve as the race went on.
“We know the car is quick ‑ we showed that pace in qualifying and Antonio in the race ‑ so we’ll look at the data and reset for tomorrow.”
