Da Costa departs TAG Heuer Porsche

TAG Heuer Porsche has announced that Antonio Felix da Costa is leaving the team ahead of the next Formula E season.

The 2019-20 Formula E champion has been with Porsche's factory team for the last three seasons – all of the GEN3 era so far – scoring five wins. His first victory for the team came at Cape Town in 2023, and he gave Porsche a long-awaited maiden home victory in Berlin during the second race of the doubleheader at Tempethof Airport in 2024.

“In three very intense years with us, Antonio proved his class with five victories in the Porsche 99X Electric,” said TAG Heuer Porsche team principal Florian Modlinger. “He impressed everyone in the team above all with his racecraft, how he could read the race and work his way forward.

“I thank Antonio for his achievements, but also for his direct and transparent approach, as well as the appreciation he showed to every single person in the team.

“My thanks also go to his mechanics and engineers; they worked extremely hard to help him regain his qualifying strength. Only then were we able to become tams’ and manufacturers’ world champions in July. We wish Antonio all the best.”

Da Costa’s stint with Porsche coincided with the brand’s most successful spell in Formula E to date. After winning the 2023-24 drivers’ title with Pascal Wehrlein, but missing out on the teams’ and manufacturers’ crowns at the final round, Porsche added the two missing trophies last season, becoming the first team and brand to claim all three.

“After the title wins in London in July, Porsche has reached the pinnacle of electric motorsport – and that is very much thanks to Antonio’s performances,” said Thomas Laudenbach, vice president of Porsche Motorsport. “He played a decisive role in enabling us to reach that achievement.

“Moments like his overtaking maneuver in Cape Town and our first home victory in Berlin will remain in our memories and are part of Porsche’s history in Formula E.

“We’re proud of all of this, and I’d like to thank him for it. I also greatly appreciated his consistently positive and relaxed manner. I hope to meet Antonio again soon in paddocks around the world and wish him all the best for his future.”

Speculation surrounding da Costa’s place at the team has been rampant for a while, following a poor start to the 2023-24 season in which he failed to score in the first three rounds and didn't get on the podium until he won in Berlin, the 10th round of the season. (An earlier win at Misano had been stripped from him following a technical infringement.)

During that time, Porsche affiliated driver Nico Mueller reportedly tested for the team, but after a turnaround in form for da Costa – where he won four times in the second half of the season, including three times in a row in Shanghai and Portland (including a sweep of the doubleheader weekend) and had an unlikely and outside shot at the championship title – he was retained.

In 2024-25, da Costa was a championship challenger again early in the season, finishing on the podium in three of the first six races. He eventually finished fifth overall, taking his best championship result for Porsche, and going one position better than the season before when his late-season rally vaulted him up the standings.

“I’m happy that it happened instead of being sad that it ends,” said da Costa. “I raced for one of the most prestigious brands in the world – that’s an honor for me,  and I’m proud that this will forever be a part of my career.

“I’ve been part of the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team for its three most successful years, and I want to thank every single person that I got to work with during this time. This includes the management with Thomas and Florian, as well as the board. A special thank you goes out to my mechanics and my engineers, who accompanied me on this road. Obrigado!”

Da Costa is expected to move to Jaguar TCS Racing for the upcoming season, taking the place vacated by Nick Cassidy following his move to the new Citroen Racing team, while Mueller is a leading contender for the second seat at the Porsche factory team following a season with customer outfit Andretti.