Formula E: Antonio Felix da Costa claims victory in Shanghai with controlled performance

Antonio Felix da Costa (TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team) managed his race to perfection to win the Shanghai E-Prix.

The Portuguese driver consistently stayed in the top three while conserving energy to have an advantage towards the end of the race. He took the lead and upped the pace with six laps to go, not allowing anyone to challenge him for the position from there.

"I love it, I love to come back swinging after some tough times," Da Costa said in parc ferme. "Yesterday sucked, really, how we lost those points at the end, but I'm super happy to be able to perform like this today. The car was in such a good window.

"There was a lot of management going on out there, with the energy first and the temperature after that - it's super hot today. It's great to also have an Andretti with a Porsche powertrain here on the podium, that shows that we're still the brand to beat.

"There's a lot of things [you need to be able to reset after things go wrong]. I think having the right people around you is the No. 1 priority. And yeah, when times get tough, the tough get going, so that's how I look at it.

"Everybody goes through tough times and luckily for me, my tough times are when a racing car is not performing well. You need to put everything in perspective and I'm such a lucky guy to call this my job.

"Today will be about celebrating. It's good to have a couple of weeks off now before Portland - we'll just keep going until the end now."

DS Penske's Stoffel Vandoorne had the best getaway at lights out and beat pole sitter Jake Hughes (Neom McLaren Formula E Team) to the holeshot. However, it was Norman Nato (Andretti Formula E) who swiftly took over the lead and was contend to stay in P1, despite risking an energy deficit.

While the order up and down the field kept changing on the wide and flowing Shanghai International Circuit, it was largely Nato, Da Costa and Hughes who made up the top three and managed best to stay at the sharp end of the race.

Nato led for the majority of proceedings but sacrificed energy doing so. In contrast, Da Costa was building an energy advantage staying behind the Frenchman's Andretti.

Da Costa took over at the head of the race on Lap 16, knowing that only the Jaguar TCS Racing duo of Nick Cassidy and Mitch Evans further down the order matched him on energy resources.

Indeed, Cassidy was charging in the final third of the race, attacking Hughes for third and the pair made contact that left the Jaguar's front wing in a precariously loose position. Having successfully defended from the Kiwi, Hughes went for an attack and claimed Nato for second.

Da Costa started to push the envelope with six laps to go and the top five gradually stretched out, meaning there was no further change in positions up front. Da Costa collected his second win of the season while Hughes bagged his first-ever Formula E podium.

"I'm over the moon," the McLaren driver said. "It feels like it's been a long time coming; back in the first race in Mexico last season, we finished fourth on the road, I felt like we could have got the podium that day. So after whatever many races it's been, it's about time.

"[My 30th birthday on Thursday] is going to be a good day, well, hopefully, tonight is going to be an even better day. The team all deserve it, the last few months have been hard on everyone; not scoring the points and it's been a very busy schedule. So I'm so happy they get to have some success."

Completing the podium, Nato secured his first rostrum finish of the season in third. "It's been very good, much better than yesterday," he said.

"I feel like all this season, every time we tried to do something which looked correct to us, a small issue happened. And I said to the guys, let's not give up because we have the pace. In qualifying we manage to have the package, we manage to win the duels and be in front.

"But so far, it's been a long one. I've never had a season where nothing wanted to come together and it's not even pace-wise. And today, we didn't change anything and I just tried, and tried, and we didn't give up and it worked. So this feels good after all the hard work, and also fighting for the team championship it's very good points.

"Today it was a really smart race from Antonio [Felix Da Costa] and Jake [Hughes], we worked together which also made our lives easier compared to when you are in the pack and it's not really under control, it's not really your race. Whereas today we had the pace and honestly, I didn't even try to fight Antonio [Felix Da Costa] because he was just doing a really smart race.

"Every race weekend it's possible, it's Formula E. Every season I did in Formula E I got at least a podium or a win, so you know. I just need to prove what I'm able to do. Step by step I will make it, but it was very important to recreate a good dynamic, a good spirit with everyone and now we are reaching the end of the season, so points are really important if you want to fight for the top three [in the team's championship].

"It starts from today; Jake [Dennis] so far did some really good scoring in some races where we didn't look the best, so I'm really pleased with today. It's my turn to score the points for the team."

Championship leader Cassidy was fourth and extended his points advantage to 25 as his main title rival Pascal Wehrlein (TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team) finished outside the scoring positions following a puncture.

Evans completed a great result for Jaguar in fifth while Vandoorne came home in sixth. Jean-Eric Vergne (DS Penske) was seventh from Maximilian Guenther (Maserati MSG Racing) and Robin Frijns (Envision Racing) - with Oliver Rowland (Nissan Formula E Team) rounding out the top 10.

The pressure was on for pole sitter Hughes as McLaren tackled a busy and important day, competing in Formula E, the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix, and the Indy 500.

Hughes delivered an excellent strategy, staying at the sharp end throughout the race and conserving energy to be able to strike in the final stages.

While it was not quite enough for the win, it was an excellent career-first podium for Hughes and a welcome boost for a lately stricken Neom McLaren Formula E Team.

1/28: VANDOORNE STEALS HOLSESHOT - Vandoorne has the best get-away at lights out and takes P1 off Hughes. Meanwhile, both Jaguar drivers have lost positions.

4/28: NATO ON THE CHARGE - Nice moves from Nato through the opening turns to work his way up the order. As Vandoorne goes wide for attack mode, Nato inherits the lead.

12/28: WEHRLEIN IN THE PITS - Wehrlein heads to the pits with a puncture. The day just keeps getting worse for the Porsche driver whose race never really got going.

16/28: ENERGY CHECK - It's advantage Da Costa, Cassidy, and Evans in terms of energy. In contrast, it's not looking too good for Nato, having led for large parts, and quite poorly for Vandoorne who engaged in prolonged battles with Hughes.

19/28: CONTACT - Cassidy and Hughes make contact through the opening turns, leaving some damage on the Jaguar's front wing.

22/28: DA COSTA SEEKS BREAK - Now Da Costa is pushing the envelope trying to bolt. He has an energy advantage over Hughes and Nato, it's still only the Jaguars in fourth and fifth that are looking better.

28/28: DA COSTA WINS IN SHANGHAI - Indeed, Da Costa brings home the win with hardly an energy left. Hughes is second with Nato completing the podium.

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