Antonio Felix da Costa reveals 'last call' after Porsche Formula E breakup

Antonio Felix da Costa has revealed details about the "last call" he had with Porsche, before the pair's breakup was made official by the German manufacturer. 

Following a rocky three seasons with the Stuttgart-based outfit, da Costa opted to depart Porsche to complete a move to rival Jaguar for the upcoming season. It was a move rumoured for months, before being officially communicated by the Big Cat in early October. 

Da Costa's relationship with Porsche was a fascinating one, given that the periods of most tension often resulted in staggering results for the Portuguese driver. The tricky times fuelled da Costa, making him on occasion an unbeatable force in Formula E. 

A fine example of this is in the opening months of 2024, following Nico Müller's shock mid-season Porsche test. It took place while Müller raced for ABT Cupra, and da Costa remained under contract at the German squad. 

Da Costa's first race after discovering that the test had taken place was a victory in Misano; however, that was later taken from him due to a technical infraction which resulted in disqualification. 

Despite that, having initially struggled immensely in the opening races last year in Season 10, the 2020 champion ended up going on a run of four wins in five races between Berlin and Portland. As a result, the partnership remained intact for the most recent campaign.

It was a duo with significant potential which failed to reach its true heights, while a fractious relationship between da Costa and Pascal Wehrlein failed to help matters. 

However, things did end on good terms between da Costa and Porsche, with the 34-year-old having been left pleased by his last phone call with the outfit.

Asked by RacingNews365 if he wants to prove Porsche wrong, da Costa replied: "No, no, no, not that at all. There were some difficult conversations there towards the end, but I was really happy with the last call. 

"The last call was like, there's a door always open for you here. We were trying to do the best for us, we were trying to do the best for you, and no hard feelings. So I was really happy with that last final call with with them, when everything was sorted, I can't judge any of them. 

"They are still a winning team. Just the way they want to operate is not the way I want to operate. So I can't point fingers and say they are not good at their jobs. That's not true. But again, it's not something I have in my mind. 

"There's none of that wanting to prove [myself to them]. I just want to do my thing, be happy, win races and and go home with a smile on my face. Ultimately, I think [going for] revenge just keeps other people in control and that's not what I want."

Porsche's thoughts on final phone call

As is always the case in motorsport, there are two sides to every story, with some details about what truly happened between Porsche and da Costa likely to never be known. 

While major hurdles were faced, da Costa still supported Porsche to last season's teams' and manufacturers' titles – two achievements which would not have happened without his results.

This is recognised by Porsche team principal Florian Modlinger, who agreed with da Costa's comments that the final conversation was a productive one, to the extent that the door remains open.

Discussing his own thoughts on the final conversation with da Costa, Modlinger said: "It's always important when, yeah, we found an amicable and friendly agreement. 

"And I always enjoyed to work with Antonio, what we achieved together. And you always meet twice in motorsport, it's a little world, and it's very important that everything is clear. 

"You clear the air, and you have a friendly and amicable agreement."