EXCLUSIVE: “It wasn’t easy” after being dropped by Red Bull, but “DTM drive was the best thing to happen” as “I quickly overcame my frustration” and “had fun racing again” - Da Costa.

PHOTO CREDIT: TAG Heuer Porsche.

AUTHOR: Junaid Samodien

Success in life is not dished out, it's earned! But how you achieve that success is quite a complex task for everyone, including elite athletes who encounter and face many highs and lows throughout their careers. With good quality coaching and training (both mentally and physically) each individual or sportsman will have the necessary tools to overcome any obstacle and push through to succeed.  

Antonio Felix Da Costa is one such example, of overcoming a potential career-altering moment, and still persevering despite adversity coming through to succeed and enjoy racing once more. 

If we rewind a few years, da Costa’s motorsport career could have been a lot different. In 2008, the Portuguese star competed in Formula Renault, and a year later, he won the Formula Renault 2.0 NEC Championship. As a reward, he was given a test drive with Formula One team, Sahara Force India at the 2010 young drivers’ test where he placed third on the timing sheets. 

With a blossoming career, the Portuguese driver competed in GP3 Series, Formula Three Cup, and the Macau Grand Prix with the Carlin Motorsport team, and soon after was signed to the Red Bull junior driver programme headed by Dr. Helmut Marko. 

Having joined a prestigious junior driver programme, da Costa took part in Formula One test sessions with Red Bull Racing from 2012-13, alongside his regular racing programme. 

In 2013, he finished third place in the Formula Renault 3.5 championship. That year, he was informed that his future was secure with Red Bull and that he would make the step into Formula One with Scuderia Toro Rosso, but that never materialized. The seat instead went to GP3 champion Daniil Kvyat. 

Despite having his dreams dashed right in front of his very eyes, da Costa found a home in the DTM championship in 2014 with BMW, and that same year, he joined the all-electric Formula E Championship with Amlin Aguri. 

Despite the blows, he got back up and fought to succeed, as Vince Lombardi Jr. once said: “It's not whether you get knocked down, it's whether you get up.” To this day, the 31-year-old driver competes in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, as well as the FIA World Endurance Championship. 

2022 FIA WEC LMP2 CHAMPIONS - Will Stevens, Roberto González, and Antonio Felix Da Costa (right).
PHOTO CREDIT: Antonio Felix Da Costa. 

With a junior championship, and two FIA world titles to his record, Antonio Felix da Costa has a wealth of experience when it comes to dealing with all sorts of highs and lows, but as we know for athletes mental strength is one of the most important elements that goes hand-in-hand with training. 

Some may argue that racing drivers can’t be classified as an athlete, but they are wrong! Why? Simply, because driving a car competitively at high speeds takes a tremendous toll on the human body and mind. These drivers are required to be physically fit, and mentally strong, as well as have the ability to make decisions within split seconds whilst driving. But, how important is the mental strength of a driver? 

“Very, very important,” Antonio Felix da Costa told Slipstream SA. “Confidence is a big part of our performance once we're in the car. And it's easy for it to be shut down sometimes with results or maybe not having the right people around you or just being on a wave of bad results.”

“Now that I'm a little bit older, a bit more experienced, I've been through some bad slumps many, many times. And, I still worry, of course, because I don't like being in a wave of bad results, but I have enough experience and knowledge, and I work with a mental coach back home. I always kind of find my way back. And so yeah, it's actually fun, really fun part of the process when you're struggling and you come back,” he said.

In life, having a dream versus achieving it is a very difficult task, but many accomplish them with hard work and perseverance. Having had a successful junior career, as previously mentioned, and being drafted into the Red Bull junior drivers programme, Antonio could have been Portugal’s sixth Formula 1 driver behind Tiago Monteiro, but unfortunately, he received a phone call from Dr. Helmut Marko in October 2013 informing him that he will not progress to Formula 1 in 2014.

It’s never easy having your dreams dashed over the phone but dealing with that disappointment is what defines great sportsmen and women. 

“It wasn't easy, of course, because obviously not only myself but a lot of fans, family, friends, everyone was kind of thinking that it was a sure thing that I was going to end up in Formula One, and things happened the way they did. And so, obviously, it was already tough on me. But having seen everyone disappointed and sad as well, it's a bit of extra weight on you,” the Portuguese driver explained.

“But I must say, going to DTM was the best thing that happened to me, and becoming a factory driver there. I quickly overcame my frustration and I started having fun racing cars again and that helped obviously.” 

In our current day and age, we see drivers hopping from championship to championship where possible, for example, Formula E to the World Endurance Championship, but is it challenging to adapt or does it come with relative ease thanks to experience? 

“I think experience is part of it,” da Costa said. “But yeah, you know, just driving loads of different cars all the time opens your mindset and it’s actually something that I really like doing.”

Da Costa racing his TAG Heuer Porsche in Cape Town.
PHOTO CREDIT: TAG Heuer Porsche.

It is often said that once the helmet goes on a driver goes into their own zone. Friendships become rivalries, and the beast is unleashed. But, do drivers think of anything specifically when climbing onboard their cars, or when stationary on the grid moments before the start? 

“You think about different things, but I have no problems mixing things up. Once the helmet goes on we are rivals,” he explained.

da Costa believes that mutual respect is important regardless of fierce and competitive rivalries, he says: “If you have respect each other, then you just win or lose. But you need to be a good winner and a good loser. And that's it! I'm able to go for golfing sessions or lunches with these guys (the Formula E drivers). Like, just yesterday [before the Cape Town E-Prix weekend], I had lunch with Nick [Cassidy] and Jean-Eric [Vergne], and I had the great pleasure of beating Nick at golfing (which is a lie), but when the helmet goes we are rivals.” 

Antonio Felix da Costa took his first victory with Porsche TAG in Cape Town after an extraordinary drive from 11th on the grid that included two astounding high-speed overtakes at the tight turn eight. And, after a fourth-place finish last time out in Sao Paulo, Brazil, he now finds himself 28 points off the championship lead in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship with ten rounds remaining.