Rob LomasAfter scoring valuable points in Mexico City, Antonio Felix da Costa did not encounter the same luck in Punta del Este. However, the MS&AD Andretti driver reckons the significant performance improvement the team has had in comparison to last season.
Antonio Felix Da Costa had every reason to feel confident heading into the Punta Del Este ePrix, having made the Super Pole session in Mexico City and backing that up with a solid points finish.
However, the Punta Del Este ePrix proved to be a bit of a comedown as the Portuguese driver started and finished in 11th despite moving up through the field at the start.
In a post-race interview, Da Costa said: “We tried to go a lap longer because of the safety car and then we saw that we couldn’t make it so then we compromised the strategy a little bit.”
Having scored 60% more points this season compared to the whole of last season, it appears that the Andretti is a more competitive proposition than it used to be and the 26 year old reckons that this is the case.
“We made it to Super Pole in Mexico, qualified front row. We’ve been scoring points almost every race”, da Costa commented.
“Here, we didn’t by one position so definitely, we are much closer but as a team, I think there are a few steps we can do so we’ll keep chipping away at it and going for it and as a team, improve and go and come back stronger in Rome.”
Da Costa also has high expectations for the second half of the season, which will include the home race for the team’s technical partner, BMW.
He said: “I think if we keep working like this, we can do another step and start to qualify every time in the top seven, six, and then from there, make our lives easier in the race as well.”
Additional reporting by Andrea Perilli.
Bethonie Waring
