– The Formula E season finale in London offered pure excitement on Sunday, but on the tight and twisty Excel circuit it also turned into a fierce tactical battle. At the center of the controversy: the newly crowned world champion Pascal Wehrlein and his former Porsche teammate Antonio Felix da Costa, who took on the role of brake block in the title fight for Jaguar.
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Wehrlein secured the world championship in the London double-header ahead of Jake Dennis and Mitch Evans, but emotions ran high after the race. Both Porsche and Jaguar relied on massive team tactics to support their own title contenders.
Wehrlein spent most of the race behind Felix da Costa, who massively slowed the pace to preserve Evans’ last remaining title chance – Evans needed a win while Wehrlein had to finish outside the points. In turn 19, Felix da Costa finally pushed the German far off track, causing Wehrlein to lose several positions in one go and fall out of the points.
Wehrlein accuses Jaguar and Felix da Costa of unfair tactics
When asked about the differences in the tactics of both teams – Porsche had used Nico Müller on Saturday to slow Evans down – Wehrlein did not hold back criticism. In the German’s view, Felix da Costa went too far.
“I think the approach was completely different,” Wehrlein said at the post-race press conference. “Yesterday the approach was to keep Mitch behind and stay ahead of him. Today the approach was to destroy my race and push me out of the points.”
Wehrlein made serious accusations against the Portuguese driver: “I think Antonio tried to ruin my race for 20 laps; he drove alongside me, slowed down, pushed me against the walls. He slowed down, braked me out, and just tried to ruin my race and my championship. Because of that, Dennis was able to pass me.”
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Even when Evans was already far ahead, Felix da Costa did not relent: “Even when Mitch was already far away, he kept blocking me and pushed me off the track.”
Immediately after the race, Wehrlein called his former stablemate, with whom he already had a very tense relationship during their three years together at Porsche, an “enemy”: “The way Antonio drove is one of the most unsportsmanlike and unfair things I have ever seen. That’s how it is when you have enemies in the paddock. Still, we managed [and won the title],” Wehrlein said over the radio.
And he sent a warning: “There is one more message. I don’t forget things. Let’s have a good summer break. Next year I won’t forget what happened here.”
Felix da Costa responds: “If you dish it out, you have to take it”
Felix da Costa defended Jaguar’s aggressive defensive line and promptly countered Wehrlein’s attacks. According to the Portuguese, their own strategy was merely a response to Porsche’s games on Saturday, when Nico Müller, among others, slowed Evans down in the race.
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“I can’t deny that they annoyed me a bit with their games yesterday,” Felix da Costa told the English-language edition of Motorsport.com. “So we found a strategy to disrupt their own strategy and their games. From lap one, Müller started again, and I’m glad I could put an end to it.”
Felix da Costa clearly places the blame on the competition: “We didn’t do anything they hadn’t started. We didn’t do anything wrong. They started these games, and we played along – just a little better. You can’t expect to do such things to others without getting bitten back. That’s not how I want to drive, but when they started it, we had to do it too.”
Collision with Dennis adds extra fuel
Later in the race, Wehrlein was involved in a dramatic collision with title rival Dennis and also touched Joel Eriksson’s Envision before turn 20. Eriksson spun and stopped on the track, briefly blocking both Wehrlein and Dennis. While Dennis’ title dreams were definitively shattered – the Brit later called the way Wehrlein won the title “embarrassing” – it was enough for Wehrlein to claim the championship.
Felix da Costa, who observed the events up close, made serious accusations against the new world champion after the race: “For me, it’s completely clear. That was a super dirty maneuver. He deliberately took Jake out to secure his championship – fine by me. But that says a lot about what he does, even if it’s not for me to comment on. Two weeks ago in Tokyo, he did the same to me, so I’m not surprised.”
The race stewards saw the incident with Dennis differently and cleared Wehrlein. However, for the collision with Eriksson, the German received a five-second penalty, which was converted into a three-place grid penalty for the start of the 2026/27 season in Jeddah.
Radio message on the cooldown lap
How deep the animosity between the two rivals runs was shown in the last lap, when Wehrlein, despite the secured title, continued to fight hard against Felix da Costa and sent an angry radio message to his team: “Look at him. Still wants to fight. Bad loser. I beat you three years in a row, damn it.”
Felix da Costa responded calmly to Wehrlein’s verbal jabs: “I’ve heard a few things here and there, but if he wants, he can come and talk to me.”
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When asked if the rivalry had reached a personal level, the Jaguar driver added: “Just this year alone, he has pulled a few bad things on me, and I don’t even want to touch on the personal past with him. But you can see how other people race against me and how others race against him – and that says a lot about the people we are.”
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