Even the Abu Dhabi Auto Racing League
There was a brutal honesty that António Felix da Costa appreciated after the moment he hit rock bottom in Riyadh last January.
Then he not only had no points in three races, but was 57 points behind teammate Pascal Wehrlein, and hadn’t even registered a single point on the performance radars at all. People were worried – including the man himself, understandably.
Porsche even moved to test a driver from another team midway through the season, Abt's Nico Müller, as it looked like the relationship between da Costa and Porsche was in jeopardy.
Although some at Porsche clearly didn’t believe he could pull himself completely out of this results-based famine, others certainly did. The people closest to him in engineering were among them, and they held firm.
His engineer Marius Meier-Diedrich and performance engineer Alexander Leschke were the pioneers of this belief. They worked hard, did what they did best, and looked for solutions. The transformation didn’t happen overnight, so the journey may be sweeter now that da Costa has swept the field in an unprecedented series of Formula E victories.
He has won four of the last five races and has reduced a 76-point lead in Monaco with six races to go to 33 points, with more than 50 points available in the championship final in London.
“With Marius and my engineering crew, it’s special,” Da Costa tells The Race.
“Especially Marius because he's very emotional, but it's very hard to get that out of him sometimes.
“And when we had problems at the beginning of the year, he was incredibly honest with me, which I enjoy. I really enjoy it.
“It wasn’t nice to hear that. But it’s the only way out of a tough situation. I don’t enjoy it when people are brutally dishonest. So I really respect what he did for me and with me and the whole crew, and my performance engineer as well, Alex.
“Obviously I couldn't turn things around on my own. And they didn't lose faith. That helps. It goes a long way.”
As always with Da Costa, there's a lot to take in there.
Meyer-Diedrich famously told his driver that the Portland race, where he claimed two wins last week at the American circuit, was the best race he had ever raced in his 15-year career. It was a kind gesture that Da Costa would cherish as much as his trophies and points.
But what does it mean to refer to “brutally dishonest”?
Sometimes it’s important to give readers the proper context for how you say it, and this comment will be included in The Race Formula E Podcast this week as well. Listen for yourself. You can decide whether or not this was a deliberate inclusion.
But now all eyes are on the London Excel. But Da Costa is not even thinking about a real miracle. He is unlikely to win a second great title, of course, and it will take bad luck for Nick Cassidy, Mitch Evans and Wehrlein.
It's illogical, unrealistic and hypothetical, but if the results of the doubles in Portland were transferred to London, Da Costa would be the champion with 184 points, Evans would be second with 178 points, Wehrlein would be third with 168 points and Cassidy would be fourth with 167 points.
Da Costa is still unsure where he will race next season, as he weighs up the options available to him to return to the World Endurance Championship and match an offer from a Formula E team, or to complete the third season of his contract with Porsche.
Da Costa was so drunk on his team that he was about to make it in just a few minutes after sprinkling champagne in Portland. He wasn't even thinking about the team winning the title in London.
“I don't know yet, it's all brand new,” he said.
“I probably came to Portland this week thinking I was just here to help Pascal. Honestly, I started today’s race thinking I was here to help Pascal and I did my best – but let me have a week and I’ll be able to talk to you after that.”
A water sports junkie, Da Costa is known to make surprise dives into the nearest diving or swimming area he can find after his victories.
In London, jumping into the inky abyss of the nearby River Thames is not recommended, but if anyone can walk on water these days it's this guy.
