The Cape Town circuit took a toll this weekend and former champion Antonio Félix da Costa seized the opportunity to emerge victorious in the South African ePrix on Saturday.
Only 13 of the 22 single seaters entered this season in Formula E have ever seen the checkered flag at the end of the 30 laps of the event. The cars from the ABT Cupra and Mahindra teams did not start until the race, as did veteran Sam Bird (Jaguar), due to crashes in qualifying and practice.
The overall leader, German Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche) also did not finish the race. In fact, it ended for him on the first lap, when he collided with Sebastien Buemi (Conceived) from behind.
Back in Da Costa, the Portuguese driver scored his first victory at the wheel of a Porsche, despite starting from eleventh place. He noticeably outpaced leader Jean-Eric Vergne (Penske) with a very daring maneuver in the dying moments.
The Frenchman settled for second, while New Zealand’s Nick Cassidy (Envision) rounded out the podium.
In the general classification, Wehrlein remained in the lead with 80 points, 18 points behind Jake Dennis (Andretti). The latter has not scored a point in the last two races. The Verge and Da Costa follow with 50 and 46 points, respectively.
The Formula E Championship will now head to Brazil for the São Paulo ePrix, which will take place on March 25th.
