Jaguar takes Formula E Championship lead as Antonio Felix da Costa recovers podium at Monaco E-Prix despite collision

Antonio Felix da Costa’s podium finish on Day 2 of the Monaco E-Prix was thoroughly well earned. Despite starting second on the grid, the Jaguar TCS Racing driver was spun around by Mahindra Racing’s Edoardo Mortara on the opening lap and dropped down the order. However, clever strategy calls and decisive overtakes helped the Portuguese driver charge back through the field and claim his third podium of the season in a remarkable recovery drive.Antonio Felix da Costa moved up to sixth in the Drivers’ Championship standings following his podium finish in Monaco on Sunday. Jaguar TCS Racing also now holds a 26-point lead over Porsche in the Teams’ Championship after Mitch Evans secured a podium on Day 1 of the Monaco E-Prix.On the opening lap, Antonio was hit from behind by Edoardo Mortara, forcing him into a spin and dropping him down to P16. Despite the setback, both the driver and the team remained patient and executed a smart strategy by deploying both Attack Mode activations during the latter stages of the race. This enabled the number 13 driver to carve his way back through the field and briefly take the lead.ID@undefined Caption not available.ID@undefined Caption not available.ID@undefined Caption not available.ID@undefined Caption not available.Although he was eventually overtaken by Oliver Rowland, Mortara and Andretti’s Felipe Drugovich in the closing laps, a time penalty handed to the Mahindra driver for the first-lap collision promoted the Jaguar TCS Racing driver back into the top three, sealing a deserved podium finish.While Mitch Evans narrowly missed out on a podium on Day 2 after finishing fourth, Antonio Felix da Costa secured third place. Following Round 10, Evans now leads the Drivers’ Championship standings. Jaguar TCS Racing also tops the Teams’ World Championship standings and sits second to Porsche in the Manufacturers’ Championship, trailing by just 11 points.Jaguar TCS Racing Team Principal Ian James said, “To come away from two races at Monaco with both drivers having stood on the podium, Mitch leading the drivers’ standings and Jaguar TCS Racing leading the teams’, is awesome.”He added, “The race today was always going to be incredibly difficult strategically, and that job was made even harder when António was spun around on the first lap. Both he and his team stayed calm, and to then see António come through to make P3 was incredible and testament to his strength of character after Round 9.”Speaking about Evans, who finished fourth, James said, “For Mitch, I understand why he’s a little frustrated not to score more points today, but a fourth place to back up his second place on Saturday means he’s in a super-strong position in the Championship with seven rounds to go.”