Da Costa: “Weird” to See JOTA Success From Afar

Antonio Felix da Costa admits seeing Hertz Team JOTA score its first FIA World Endurance Championship podium in the Hypercar class in last month’s Qatar season opener from afar was a “weird” feeling.

Da Costa had been part of JOTA during its first season with the Porsche 963 last year, having initially joined the British squad for the 2019-20 season in the LMP2 class.

The Portuguese driver however was forced to give up his WEC drive with JOTA at the end of 2023 in order to focus on his Formula E duties with Porsche.

Having taken a best finish of fourth last year, da Costa could only watch from the sidelines as his former teammate Will Stevens and newcomers Callum Ilott and Norman Nato took the No. 38 JOTA entry to second behind the winning No. 6 Penske Porsche.

“It was a weird one,” da Costa told Sportscar365. “For the last six years I have been racing in the WEC, so to switch on my TV and watch from my sofa was a weird feeling.

“At the same time, I was happy to see the car that we developed from the last year-and-a-half performing well, but I’m not surprised because I could see the direction that the program was going.

“The track suited the car a lot, but I can see good things happening at Le Mans for both the factory team and JOTA.”

Da Costa added he didn’t feel “bitter at all” that JOTA’s first top-class podium came after his exit, as he remains in regular contact with many people inside the team.

“On a personal level, I care so much for them, they are a second family to me,” he said. “From a lot of team members and even some of the drivers, as soon as the race was over, I was getting messages saying it’s a shame I wasn’t there.

“I think the feeling is mutual, but I’m super-happy for them. There are not many teams in the world that, after you leave, you keep caring for, and they are one of them.

“Sam [Hignett] and David [Clark, co-owners] play a big part in the feeling that the drivers have inside that garage. A team is created by the people inside it, and Sam and David spreads the spirit through all the engineers and mechanics.

“It’s a nice family and that makes people perform.”

Da Costa endured a tough start to his second season in Formula E as a factory Porsche driver, failing to score in the first three races before earning his first points in the fourth round of the series in Sao Paulo.

He then earned his best finish of the season so far, a fourth-place finish, in last weekend’s inaugural Tokyo E-Prix, albeit losing out on a strong chance of a podium after being almost forced into the barriers during a late battle with Oliver Rowland.

Although the Formula E season concludes in mid-July, da Costa does not anticipate any opportunities to return to the WEC paddock until next season at the earliest.

“At the moment, the focus is on Formula E, and I’m doing that,” he said. “I’m not expecting any Hypercar seat to be available after July. I don’t see why that would happen, especially in JOTA. But we will see what the future brings.

“The time will come [to discuss the situation with Porsche], and we’ll do that.”

Asked specifically whether focusing on Formula E had helped his performances in the all-electric series, da Costa replied: “I don’t really want to dig into that.

“There are different opinions floating around. It’s the situation we’re in and I just need to do my best.”