Antonio Felix da Costa stormed through the field to collect his first Formula E win with Tag Heuer Porsche in Saturday's inaugural Cape Town E-Prix.
From P11 on the grid, Da Costa relied on two extraordinarily bold moves to seal the fate of his rivals in a dramatic event survived by just 13 drivers.
Led by Nissan's Sacha Fenestraz, who had set the fastest pole ever recorded in Formula E, a depleted field lined up on the grid due to the withdrawal before the race on safety grounds of all four Mahindra-powered cars and of Sam Bird who was forced to sit out the round in the wake of a crash that damaged the Briton's Jaguar beyond repair.
Fenestra held his own at the start, but commotion erupted at Turn 10 when Pascal Wehrlein clashed with Sebastien Buemi. Contrary to the Swiss driver, Wehrlein was forced to retire with a bent steering.
Confusion ensued during the Safety Car period, with Maserati's Maximilian Guenther slipping past Fenestraz while the race was neutralized, prompting an investigation by race control.
As the race unfolded, Nick Cassidy seized the lead when Guenther took his attack mode. But the German eventually ended up in the wall at the track's tricky Turn 7, triggering another full course yellow.
HANG IT IN THE LOUVRE 🤌
A move worthy of winning any race. Take a bow @AFelixdacosta 👏#CapeTownEPrix pic.twitter.com/G2hrANaCTk
— ABB FIA Formula E World Championship (@FIAFormulaE) February 25, 2023
When the action resumed, a banzi move by da Costa on Cassidy put the Portuguese charger in command. DS Penske's Jean-Eric Vergne followed suit and also gained the upper hand over Cassidy, knocking the Envision Racing driver down to third.
But as he took his attack mode, da Costa conceded the lead to Vergne. The Porsche driver was determined to recoup what he felt was rightfully his, and executed another 'all balls out' move on Vergne to reconquer the lead, permanently.
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