Antonio Felix da Costa apologizes for collision with Nick Cassidy – After penalty against him, Jaguar, not Porsche, is world champion in the manufacturers’ championship
The Formula E season finale in London last Sunday had repercussions that will affect the world championship title, although not the drivers’ championship title
Porsche driver Pascal Wehrlein has been crowned Formula E World Champion 2024 in the drivers’ standings, as has Jaguar in the team standings. In the manufacturers’ standings, however, the world title will not go to Porsche but also to Jaguar following a result correction.
Why? Porsche driver Antonio Felix da Costa received a retrospective penalty that dropped him from fifth to 13th place in the results of Sunday’s race. The penalty was imposed for a collision that Felix da Costa had with Jaguar driver Nick Cassidy of all people during the race. Alongside his own team-mate Mitch Evans, Cassidy was one of Wehrlein’s two rivals in the battle for the drivers’ title.
The TV picture showed Cassidy receiving a blow from Maserati driver Maximilian Günther on the last corner of the indoor-outdoor track (turn 20) and turning into the pit lane with a damaged car. The repair knocked the New Zealander out of the title fight.
Over the radio, Cassidy said at that moment that Felix da Costa had run into the back of him. The TV commentators, however, referred to the collision between Günther and Cassidy. The replay of Günther’s onboard perspective confirmed this
Absolute heartbreak for @NickCassidy_ 💔
The moment the title contender was knocked out of the running for the Championship.@Hankook_Sport #LondonEPrix pic.twitter.com/PhTTbbnajM
— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) July 21, 2024
In fact, there was another collision shortly before the collision between Günther and Cassidy seen on TV, namely between Felix da Costa and Cassidy in turn 16. This was confirmed after the race by both the Porsche driver and the Jaguar driver.
Felix da Costa apologizes to Cassidy
“I feel terrible,” says Felix da Costa in an interview for the English-language edition of Motorsport.com, “I’m glad that as Pascal’s teammate I was able to be a help by supporting him in the attack modes and thus influence the result. ”
“But,” says the Portuguese driver, referring to his collision with Cassidy, “I never wanted to do that. It feels terrible, not only because of what happened, but also because of the consequences it had for him. He had already fired his two attack modes and it looked really good for him.”
“I can only apologize to him, to his family and to his team. It was a minimal contact, but it was strong enough to end in disaster for him. I’m really, really sorry about that,” said the Porsche driver.
Cassidy confirms: It was Felix da Costa
Cassidy confirms that he was caught by Felix da Costa. Speaking to Motorsport.com, the Jaguar driver says: “He cost me a world title, but it wasn’t intentional. I know that. It was simply a mistake on his part. It had major consequences for me.
Cassidy holds no grudges against Porsche drivers from Portugal. “He is a good friend. He’s a world champion, I’m not. We cried together,” reports the New Zealander of an embrace between the two shortly after the race