António Félix da Costa

António Félix da Costa
Born	(1991-08-31) August 31, 1991 Cascais, Portugal
Occupation	Racing driver
Known for	2019–20 Formula E Drivers' Champion

António Maria de Mello Breyner Félix da Costa (born 31 August 1991) is a professional racing driver from Portugal, currently competing for the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team and recognized as the 2019–20 Formula E Drivers' Champion.

He achieved notable success by winning the renowned Macau Grand Prix twice, in 2012 and 2016, as well as securing the title in the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup during 2009.

Félix da Costa’s significant rise occurred in 2012 when he began the season with Carlin Motorsport in the GP3 Series before joining the Red Bull Junior Team. He replaced Lewis Williamson mid-season in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series driving for Arden Caterham. Demonstrating strong form, he claimed victory in four of the last five races and ended the year fourth overall, trailing champion Robin Frijns by just 23 points. He remained with Arden Caterham for a full season in 2013.

Both Félix da Costa and Robin Frijns participated in testing for the Red Bull Racing Formula One team at the Abu Dhabi Young Drivers' test. This marked Félix da Costa’s second such test, having previously driven for Force India in 2010. Notably, he recorded the quickest lap on the second day of testing. He concluded that season by delivering Portugal’s first Macau Grand Prix win in 58 years, leading every lap en route to victory.

Karting

Originating from Cascais, Félix da Costa began his karting journey at nine years old. In 2002, he secured both the Portuguese Cadet Championship and Portuguese Karting Open titles, followed by a win in the South Portuguese Championship in 2003. Progressing to the ICA-J category in 2004, he captured the Portuguese Championship crown in 2006 while also achieving strong results on the European stage, including finishing second in the World Series Karting Championship and third place at the Italian Open Masters. In 2007, he was appointed an official factory driver for Italy’s Tony Kart team competing in the KF2 class alongside teammate Will Stevens. Highlights that year included a fourth-place finish at the Asia-Pacific Championship and runner-up status at the South-Garda Winter Cup.

2008

In 2008, Félix da Costa made his transition to single-seater racing by competing simultaneously in both the Eurocup and Northern European Cup championships. His debut race at Hockenheim saw him finish third behind teammates Valtteri Bottas and Tobias Hegewald. Concentrating more on the NEC series than on Eurocup, he secured his first NEC victory at Oschersleben, ultimately finishing as runner-up, trailing Bottas who dominated with twelve wins by a margin of 86 points. As a result of his performance, Félix da Costa earned a test drive with P1 Motorsport in a Formula Renault 3.5 Series car at Paul Ricard. Alongside six Eurocup appearances where his best result was fourth place at Estoril, he ended that championship thirteenth overall. Additionally, he acted as rookie driver for A1 Team Portugal during rounds held in New Zealand and South Africa of the 2008–09 A1 Grand Prix season.

2009

With key competitors such as Bottas, Hegewald, Daniel Ricciardo, and Roberto Merhi advancing to Formula Two or Formula Three categories, Félix da Costa emerged as a leading contender for titles in both Eurocup and NEC Formula Renault championships. Following Bottas’ precedent from 2008, he dominated the NEC circuit to claim the championship at Nürburgring. His Eurocup campaign was marked by consistent top-five finishes across the first seven races and leading the standings until a technical infringement at Nürburgring impacted his ranking. He triumphed in both races held at Ciudad del Motor de Aragón but narrowly missed out on securing second place in the championship after losing on a tie-breaker to Jean-Éric Vergne.

2010

In 2010, Félix da Costa progressed to the Formula 3 Euro Series with Motopark Academy. He scored points in his debut race at Le Castellet and secured pole position for the second race thanks to the reverse-grid system. His points-scoring streak continued at Hockenheim, Valencia, Norisring, and Nürburgring. At Nürburgring, he made history as the first Portuguese driver to claim a victory in the series by overtaking pole-sitter Jim Pla. He then achieved wins at Zandvoort and Brands Hatch, starting both Sunday races from pole position and leading from start to finish.

Additionally, he earned a podium finish at Oschersleben and concluded the season seventh overall, standing out as the highest-ranked rookie. Félix da Costa also made his debut at the Macau Grand Prix with Carlin Motorsport, qualifying 13th and finishing sixth in the main event. Prior to Macau, he participated in the Formula One Young Drivers' Test for Force India at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, recording the third-fastest lap on day one while completing 77 laps.

2011

In preparation for a return to the Macau Grand Prix in 2011, Félix da Costa joined Hitech Racing for two rounds of the British Formula Three Championship, stepping in for Max Snegirev. He competed at Nürburgring and Paul Ricard, tracks he was familiar with from his previous Formula 3 Euro Series experience. At Nürburgring, da Costa secured a second-place finish behind Felipe Nasr after overtaking Carlos Huertas on the final lap. At Paul Ricard, he achieved two podiums—second place in race one and third place in race two—finishing thirteenth overall, tied with teammate Riki Christodoulou. Returning to Hitech Racing for Macau, he qualified on the front row due to a penalty imposed on Roberto Merhi but stalled at the start of the qualifying race, dropping to last before retiring with gearbox failure. He also retired from the main race because of a wheel issue.

2012

Eligibility rules for the 2012 Macau Grand Prix required participation in any Formula Three championship race during that year, following Dallara’s introduction of the F312 chassis. As a result, Félix da Costa competed with Carlin in the season finale of the MotorSport Vision Formula Three Cup at Snetterton—a UK-based second-tier F3 series—due to other scheduling commitments. He dominated both races there, winning by margins close to one minute and forty seconds respectively. At Macau, da Costa set the fastest time in the initial qualifying session but started second after Alex Lynn improved during the second session. In the qualification race, after briefly losing then regaining the lead from Felix Rosenqvist on lap one, da Costa claimed pole position for the main event. During the Grand Prix itself, he retook and maintained the lead from Rosenqvist at Lisboa corner on lap one and went on to win, becoming the first Portuguese driver to triumph since Eduardo de Carvalho in 1954 and securing Carlin’s first Macau victory since Takuma Sato’s win in 2001.

2010

Félix da Costa made his debut in the inaugural 2010 GP3 Series by substituting for Lucas Foresti at Carlin during rounds held at Hungaroring and Spa-Francorchamps. Foresti was unavailable due to commitments in British Formula Three. Da Costa finished sixth in his first race—his sole points finish—and ended the season ranked 26th in the drivers' championship.

2011

In 2011, da Costa committed to a full season in GP3 with Status Grand Prix, teaming up with Alexander Sims and Ivan Lukashevich. He earned points in both Istanbul Park races, finishing fifth and fourth respectively. After a stretch of nine races without scoring—his highest result being ninth at Silverstone—he secured sixth place at Hungaroring and seventh at Monza. Starting from the front row in the season finale, he took advantage of a collision among competitors to claim his inaugural GP3 victory, concluding the year thirteenth overall. Additionally, da Costa participated in the 2011 GP2 Final non-championship event for Ocean Racing Technology, finishing seventh and thirteenth.

2012

Félix da Costa remained in the 2012 GP3 Series, returning to Carlin alongside British teammates Alex Brundle and William Buller. At the opening round in Barcelona, he achieved pole position by a margin of 0.01 seconds but was penalized with a drive-through for jumping the start, ultimately placing fourteenth in race one and seventh in race two. During the Monaco rounds, da Costa finished seventh in the first race and secured his first podium by holding second place in race two.

At Valencia, he was disqualified from qualifying due to a technical breach, forcing him to start race one from the back; he retired following an incident. For race two, he incurred a ten-place grid penalty but managed to climb from 24th to eighth while setting the fastest lap. At Silverstone, da Costa qualified third and claimed his first victory of the season under wet conditions, later finishing sixth in the subsequent race to rise to third in the drivers’ championship standings.

After retiring from both races at Hockenheim, he captured his second win at Hungaroring, defending his lead from the outset. In the reverse-grid race two, da Costa advanced from eighth to first using tire strategy, becoming the first GP3 competitor to win both races during a single weekend. At Spa-Francorchamps, he secured second place in both races, narrowing his deficit to championship leader Mitch Evans to 21.5 points.

An electronic malfunction during Monza affected his title aspirations; despite briefly losing power mid-race and finishing fifteenth, he concluded the season third overall behind Evans and Daniel Abt.

2012

Midway through 2012, Félix da Costa joined the Red Bull Junior Team, taking over from Lewis Williamson at the Arden Caterham outfit alongside teammate Alexander Rossi. On debut at the Nürburgring, he finished ninth, securing two points toward the championship. At Moscow Raceway, where the series made its first appearance, da Costa qualified seventh—outperforming Rossi—and finished seventh and fifteenth in the two races.

At Silverstone, he placed fifth in a demanding opening race while setting the fastest lap, followed by a runner-up finish in race two. At Hungaroring, da Costa achieved fourth place in race one and claimed his first victory of the series in race two after leader Kevin Magnussen suffered engine failure. Maintaining momentum at Le Castellet, he won the rain-affected first race starting from sixth and came second in the next event after a tight contest with Jules Bianchi.

He wrapped up the season with a double triumph at Catalunya, overtaking championship rival Sam Bird for his initial win and dominating a wet final race by nearly 28 seconds. Despite missing five initial rounds, da Costa finished fourth overall with 166 points, trailing champion Robin Frijns by 23 points. His impressive results across GP3 and Formula Renault 3.5 earned him an opportunity to test with the Red Bull Racing Formula One team during the Abu Dhabi Young Drivers' Test, where he recorded the second-fastest time on day one and topped timings on day two.

2013

In an interview with Diário de Notícias conducted in September 2012, Félix da Costa revealed his ambition to secure a full-time position for the 2013 Formula Renault 3.5 Series season. On 9 January 2013, he officially confirmed his continuation with the Arden Caterham squad, the team he competed with during the previous year. The 2012 champion Robin Frijns identified both Félix da Costa and Kevin Magnussen as top contenders for the championship title.

2014

During the 2014 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season, Félix da Costa competed for BMW MTEK alongside teammate Timo Glock. Over the course of the season, he accumulated six points across two events and concluded the championship in 21st place. BMW opted to retain him for the subsequent 2015 Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters season.

2015

In 2015, Félix da Costa switched to BMW Team Schnitzer, partnering with Martin Tomczyk. He achieved his first podium finish at Zandvoort by securing second place, followed by a victory in the weekend’s second race—marking his inaugural DTM win. Although he reached eighth position in the standings mid-season, he finished the year ranked eleventh overall.

2014–15 season

Félix da Costa took part in the debut 2014–15 Formula E season driving for Team Aguri, while simultaneously managing his DTM commitments. His teammates during this period were Katherine Legge and Salvador Durán. Da Costa’s sole victory that season came at the 2015 Buenos Aires ePrix, where he advanced from eighth on the starting grid. Apart from an eleventh-place finish at the 2015 Berlin ePrix, he consistently scored points throughout the campaign and ended up eighth in the championship with a total of 51 points.

2015–16 season

For the 2015–16 Formula E season, Félix da Costa remained with Team Aguri, alongside drivers Nathanaël Berthon, Salvador Durán, and later Ma Qinghua. Early races were marred by several technical failures that limited his results. After three rounds, Berthon was replaced by Durán, who was subsequently succeeded by Ma Qinghua three events later. Due to overlapping DTM obligations, da Costa missed the 2016 Berlin ePrix and was substituted by René Rast, though he returned for the London double-header finale. His top results included three sixth-place finishes at Putrajaya, Punta del Este, and London (race 1). Mechanical setbacks at both the 2015 Beijing ePrix and 2016 Buenos Aires ePrix denied him podium opportunities. Additionally, after securing pole position at the 2016 Long Beach ePrix, he was disqualified over tyre pressure irregularities. In race two of the 2016 London ePrix, da Costa crossed the line fourth but penalties for exceeding power limits and track violations relegated him to 11th place. Motorsport.com ranked him fourth overall for demonstrating resilience amid persistent challenges.

2016–17 season

On 3 July 2016, Félix da Costa announced his exit from Team Aguri to join Andretti Autosport for Formula E’s third season, confirmed alongside teammate Robin Frijns.

2017–18 season

Félix da Costa continued with Andretti throughout the 2017–18 campaign.

2018–19 season

Da Costa was signed by Andretti for the 2018–19 campaign, where he teamed up with Alexander Sims. He achieved pole position and claimed victory at the 2018 Ad Diriyah ePrix, marking BMW's first podium finish in three years. During the second round at the 2019 Marrakesh ePrix, he was leading the race until a collision with teammate Sims forced him to retire.

2019–20 season

In 2019, Félix da Costa departed from Andretti to join the reigning Teams' Champions, DS Techeetah, partnering with defending champion Jean-Éric Vergne. He earned podium placements in Santiago and Mexico City, finishing second on both occasions. His inaugural victory for DS Techeetah came at the Marrakesh ePrix, where he recorded one of Formula E’s largest winning margins of 11.427 seconds.

Following the COVID-19 break, da Costa excelled at Berlin's Tempelhof Airport circuit by securing two wins and an additional podium. This dominant performance led him to clinch the Drivers' Championship and helped DS Techeetah secure the Constructors' title with two rounds still remaining. In recognition of his achievements, he was awarded the Order of Merit by President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

2020–21 season

Félix da Costa continued racing for DS Techeetah alongside teammate Jean-Éric Vergne during the 2020–21 season.

2021–22 season

For the 2021–22 campaign, da Costa remained with DS Techeetah, once again partnered with Jean-Éric Vergne.

2022–23 season

After three seasons with DS Techeetah, Félix da Costa transitioned to TAG Heuer Porsche for the 2022–23 season, taking over from André Lotterer and joining forces with Pascal Wehrlein. The start of the season was challenging, as he managed only one points finish in the opening two races, while teammate Wehrlein led the championship standings. Da Costa bounced back at the chaotic Hyderabad ePrix, finishing third in his 100th Formula E race despite starting from 13th on the grid. His strong form continued at Cape Town, where he claimed his first win of the season after overtaking rivals at a pivotal corner.

2023–24 season

Félix da Costa stayed with Porsche for this period. In the latter half of the season, he secured five victories on track, including wins at Misano race 1 (later disqualified), Berlin race 2, Shanghai race 2, and both rounds of the Portland ePrix.

2024–25 season

Da Costa is set to continue his partnership with Porsche alongside teammate Pascal Wehrlein into the forthcoming 2024–25 season.

Personal life

Félix da Costa’s elder half-brother, Duarte, is also a professional racing driver focused on touring cars and sports car competitions, while acting as Félix’s manager. Beyond motorsport, Félix enjoys surfing and is proficient in five languages: Portuguese, Spanish, French, English, and Italian.

Career overview

...

Season	Championship	Team	Events	Victories	Pole positions	Fastest laps	Podium finishes	Points scored	Final standing
2008	Formula Renault UK Winter Series	CR Scuderia	4	0	0	0	1	N/A	NC†
	Formula Renault 2.0 Portugal Winter Series	Motopark Academy	2	0	0	0	0	4	17th
	Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0		6	0	0	0	0	18	13th
	Formula Renault 2.0 NEC		16	1	1	1	10	280	2nd
2009	Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0	Motopark Academy	14	3	2	3	9	128	3rd
	Formula Renault 2.0 NEC		14	9	4	7	11	361	style="background:#FFFFBF;" | 1st
2010 ...

^† Being a guest competitor, da Costa was not eligible to earn points.
^* The season is currently underway.

Complete Formula Renault 2.0 NEC results

(key) (Entries in bold denote pole position; those in italics indicate fastest lap)

... (additional rows omitted for brevity) ...

Year	Team/Entrant	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	R7	R8	R9	R10	R11	R12	R13	R14	R15	R16	Final position	Points total
2008 Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup | Motopark Academy	style="background:#FFDF9F;" |Hockenheimring Race 1	style="background:#DFFFDF;" |Hockenheimring Race 2	style="background:#DFDFDF;" |Circuit Park Zandvoort Race 1	style="background:#FFDF9F;" |Circuit Park Zandvoort Race 2	style="background:#DFFFDF;" |Alastaro Circuit Race 1	style="background:#DFDFDF;" |Alastaro Circuit Race 2	style="background:#FFFFBF;" |Motopark Oschersleben Race 1	style="background:#DFDFDF;" |Motopark Oschersleben Race 2	style="background:#FFDF9F;" |TT Circuit Assen Race 1	style="background:#DFFFDF;" |TT Circuit Assen Race 2	style="background:#DFDFDF;" |Circuit Zolder Race 1	style="background:#FFDF9F;" |Circuit Zolder Race 2	style="background:#DFFFDF;" |Nürburgring Race 1	style="background:#CFCFFF;" |Nürburgring Race 2	style="background:#FFDF9F;" |Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps Race 1	style="background:#DFFFDF;" |Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps Race 2	style="background:#DFDFDF;" |2nd	style="background:#DFDFDF;" |279

Complete Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 results

(key) (Races in bold signify pole position; races in italics show fastest lap)

...

Year	Team/Entrant	R1 ! R2 ! R3 ! R4 ! R5 ! R6 ! R7 ! R8 ! R9 ! R10 ! R11 ! R12 ! R13 ! R14 ! Final standing ! Points earned

Complete Formula 3 Euro Series results

(key) (Bold indicates pole position; italics denote fastest lap)

...

Year	Team/Entrant	Chassis	Engine	R1 ! R2 ! ... ! Final position ! Points total

Complete GP3 Series results

(key) (Bold marks pole position; italics mark fastest lap)

...

Complete GP2 Final results

(key) (Bold for pole positions; italics for fastest laps)

...

Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole; in italics, fastest lap)

...

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results

(key) (Bold signifies pole position; italics fastest lap)

...

^† Although the driver did not finish, he completed over ninety percent of the race distance.

Complete Formula E results

(key) (Entries in bold represent pole positions; those in italics denote fastest laps)

...

^* Current season ongoing.

Complete Stock Car Brasil results

...

^† As da Costa participated as a guest, he was not eligible to score points.

Complete Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup results

...

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

(key) (Bold indicates pole position, italics denote fastest lap)

...

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

...

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

( key) (Bold denotes pole position; italics indicate fastest lap)

...

^* Season is currently ongoing.

National Decorations

• Commander rank of the Order of Merit awarded on 3 September 2020

Related topics

• 2018–19 Formula E season