António Félix da Costa achieved his second consecutive victory in Formula E, being superior in the first race of the double round of the ePrize of Portland. After starting in fourth, he made a recovery to the win this Saturday.
In qualifying, the Portuguese driver from TAG Heuer Porsche was eliminated in the quarter-finals, being surpassed by Robin Frijns (Envision Racing/Jaguar) by just 0.046s. He would have been fifth on the grid, but was promoted to fourth due to the penalty imposed on Norman Nato (Andretti/Porsche) who finished second. The Frenchman lost the final to Mitch Evans (Jaguar TCR Racing) by 0.196s to secure pole position. Earlier, in the semifinals, the New Zealander had set the fastest lap ever at an average of 167.24km/h.
At the start of the race, Evans and Jake Hughes (NEOM McLaren/Nissan) took the first two positions, while Félix da Costa quickly recovered and reached third by the first corner. Hughes then took the lead between turns four and five. Nato was also in the fight and, on the fifth lap, he was the first in the leading group to activate the second attack mode.
At the same time, Hughes went off track and dropped in the standings… due to a collision for which Evans was deemed responsible and subsequently penalized by five seconds.
HUGHES IS OFF AT TURN 11 😳
— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) June 29, 2024
The @McLarenFE driver takes to the grass, falling from P3 to P14.@Hankook_Sport #PortlandEPrix pic.twitter.com/WaYVShTKoK
Throughout the race there was constantly a compact group in the top positions, with several changes of leader. On the 12th lap, Nick Cassidy (Envision Racing/Jaguar) took the lead after starting from a rear position on the grid.
In fact, the New Zealander stayed in the fight for the top places and it even seemed that he could get the victory, defending well against Félix da Costa’s attacks… until just before the last lap he went off track. Therefore, the Portuguese driver took virtual command: Evans was leading the pack, but had to incur a five-second penalty.
DISASTER FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP LEADER! 😵@NickCassidy_ loses it at Turn 11 and spins off the circuit, losing the race lead!@Hankook_Sport #PortlandEPrix pic.twitter.com/C0bWerCesr
— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) June 29, 2024
This way, after crossing the finish line, Evans saw the five seconds added to his time, which resulted in his demotion to eighth. Félix da Costa took advantage to celebrate his third victory of the season, with Frijns finishing second by 0.415s. Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Penske) had a recovery race, took the lead, and finished third.
Edoardo Mortara (Mahindra) and Nico Müller (Abt Cupra) closed the top five ahead of Jake Dennis (Andretti/Porsche). After the off-track incident, Cassidy missed out on points with a 19th place finish, but still remains the championship leader with only three races remaining.
Results:
