Félix da Costa Denies Vandoorne to Take Victory in Race Two of New York City E-Prix

António Félix da Costa took his and DS Techeetah’s first victory of the 2021-22 ABB FIA Formula E World Championship season in race two of the New York City E-Prix on Sunday.

After inheriting pole position thanks to Nick Cassidy’s penalties for unscheduled changes to his car following the big crash in Saturday’s opening race, Félix da Costa held onto the lead at the start and then had the race seemingly under control thereafter.

Late race yellow flags gave Félix da Costa a little respite as he conserved his energy levels, with Mercedes-EQ Formula E Team’s Stoffel Vandoorne closing in but running out of time to make a genuine challenge.

The yellow flags were caused by a collision at turn six that involved Jean-Éric Vergne, Oliver Askew and Lucas di Grassi – amongst others – with the latter two left stranded at the side of the track while Vergne recovered to the pits.  Vergne was on course for a top six finish when the collisions began, but his retirement was another big hit to his chances of a third Drivers’ Championship.

The stranded cars were in two sectors where overtaking was more prevalent, meaning Vandoorne was unable to launch an attack on Félix da Costa before the chequered flag.

Félix da Costa took the chequered flag 0.929 seconds clear of Vandoorne, while Mitch Evans completed the podium for Jaguar TCS Racing, having gained three positions during the race.  The New Zealander also survived a wild moment heading down to turn six after he hit a bump whilst attempting an overtake on Nyck de Vries before almost hitting the barriers at the end of the straight.

Evans’ last overtake as on Mahindra Racing’s Alexander Sims, with the British driver enjoying his best result of the season having started second on the grid.  Sims was able to stick with Félix da Costa for much of the race before losing out to both Vandoorne and Evans.

Another driver to enjoy his day in New York was Jaguar’s Sam Bird, with the British racer starting the day in sixteenth before climbing his way up to fifth, ahead of Envision Racing’s Robin Frijns, while de Vries also had a wild moment at turn six over the same bump that relegated him to seventh at the chequered flag.

Jake Dennis took eighth for Avalanche Andretti FE Team ahead of Tag Heuer Porsche FE Team’s André Lotterer, while ROKiT Venturi Racing’s Edoardo Mortara scored a valuable point towards the championship in tenth despite not having the pace to be a contender for the podium in New York.  He also took the bonus point on offer for setting the fastest lap.

Pascal Wehrlein missed out on points in eleventh for Porsche, while Daniel Ticktum ended twelfth for NIO 333 FE Team, the Briton having been a contender for the points early on before he slipped down the order.

Cassidy, the race winner on Saturday, started at the back of the grid and was handed a drive-through penalty for unscheduled component changes, and the lack of any kind of safety car meant he drove a lonely race at the back of the field for much of the afternoon in the second Envision Racing machine.

Sérgio Sette Câmara had been one of the stars of Qualifying earlier in the day and started fourth on the grid for Dragon/Penske Autosport, but once again the Brazilian was unable to maintain his position under race conditions, eventually sliding well outside the top ten to eighteenth at the chequered flag. 

Unfortunately for Dragon, team-mate Antonio Giovinazzi was forced to retire with a mechanical issue, his fifth retirement of what is turning out to be a horrible season for team and driver.

New York City E-Prix Race 2 Result