until Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League

Formula E

Porsche appealing da Costa's lost Formula E Misano win

by Josh Suttill
2 min read

until Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League

Porsche is appealing Antonio Felix da Costa's Misano race one disqualification in a bid to reclaim his lost E-Prix victory. 

Amid uncertainty over his future in the team, da Costa drove through the field to claim a sensational win on Saturday from 13th on the grid, only to have it all stripped away hours after the race for a technical infringement.

A throttle damper spring mounted on his works Porsche was "not found in conformity" with the regulations after the race, resulting in da Costa's disqualification and handing victory to Nissan's Oliver Rowland. 

Porsche had claimed that this part - a spec part provided by chassis supplier Spark Racing Technologies - has been unchanged on da Costa's Porsche since the start of Gen3 in 2023.

But the issue appeared to be that part was no longer legal, and hadn't been for some time in the Gen3 era, as per SRT's official parts catalogue. 

However that change wasn't highlighted to the teams and it's believed Porsche and other teams have still run it on other occasions in 2023 and 2024. Indeed da Costa's Porsche team-mate Pascal Wehrlein was also found guilty of the same offence at Misano but wasn't punished as he finished race one in 16th.

Porsche announced on Wednesday evening that it was mounting an appeal and said would not be commenting further.

There had been hints of Porsche appealing over the Misano weekend with director of Formula E at Porsche Florian Modlinger calling it a “a big loss for us, but also the sport and for Formula E in general because these consequences are really harsh".

“We have a bit of the impression and the feeling that not all teams are treated equally. That’s our personal impression. For the FIA World Championship this must be guaranteed, also for the future, that all teams are treated equally and with the same approach."

This latest protest only adds to Porsche's tricky history with Formula E's officiating.

Three years ago Wehrlein was stripped of what was then his first Formula E win in Puebla after the team was punished for an administrative error of tyre choice allocations ahead of the race.

When da Costa lost his second position because of a deflating Hankook tyre which had been damaged via another car in London last summer, Porsche took the case all the way to the International Court of Appeal, only for the decision to stand.

And earlier in 2024 in Mexico, Wehrlein and Porsche were at the centre of a potential launch control aid investigation - one that ended up unproven.

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