António Félix da Costa’s Formula E season could not have started in more brutal fashion. The Portuguese Jaguar driver was wiped out by Spanish rookie Pepe Martí in São Paulo, derailing what had been a podium-level performance and leaving him only 11th at the flag.
Starting from sixth on the grid, the driver from Cascais surged to the lead of the race, showcasing the pace Jaguar had brought to Brazil. But with just three laps remaining, disaster struck when teammate Mitch Evans crashed, triggering yellow flags.
With the field instructed to slow within five seconds, Félix da Costa backed off immediately — but Martí, making his Formula E debut, reacted far too late.
The Spaniard slammed into the back of Félix da Costa’s Jaguar and into Nico Müller’s Porsche, launching over both cars in a dramatic airborne collision.
The race was red-flagged. And when running resumed for a one-lap shootout, Félix da Costa was forced to restart at the back after his damaged car required repairs — a violation under FE regulations.
He crossed the line 12th, later recovering one place due to a penalty for Brazil’s Filipe Drugovich.
“Wrong place, wrong time,” says Félix da Costa
“It was one of those days where we were in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Félix da Costa said.
“I had absolutely nothing I could do when Pepe Martí just braked into the back of me, destroying my wing and the floor of my car.”
The 2020 Formula E champion admitted the result was painful given the speed he had shown all day:
“On a day with good performance, I felt I had a real chance of leaving São Paulo with a third or fourth place, so it’s tough to walk away with zero points.”
Still, he emphasized the positives:
“We were competitive all day — in qualifying, where I was the fastest, and in the race, where I felt really confident and was fighting for the podium.”
Dennis Wins After Late Attack Mode Strategy
The victory went to Britain’s Jake Dennis (Andretti), rewarded by a perfectly timed late activation of his attack modes.
Fellow Briton Oliver Rowland (Nissan) took second, 1.349s behind, while New Zealander Nick Cassidy (Citroën) completed the podium in third.







