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Formula E

Da Costa disqualified and stripped of famous Misano win

Antonio Felix da Costa has been disqualified from the inaugural Misano E-Prix.

Da Costa / Tokyo
Article
To news overview © Alastair Staley / Formula E

Antonio Felix da Costa has been disqualified from the inaugural Misano E-Prix, with the Portuguese driver losing his first victory in over 12 months as a result.

The Porsche driver timed his move to the front after starting 14th to absolute perfection and claimed the lead of the race on the penultimate lap.

To take the lead he had to overtake Nissan's Oliver Rowland, who has inherited his first victory since returning to Nissan.

Da Costa has been disqualified as his throttle damper spring was "not found in conformity of the regulations", as stated by the FIA.

It comes as a significant blow to the Portuguese driver, whose future with Porsche has been thrown massively into doubt after the team recently tested Nico Müller.

Following da Costa's disqualification, Jake Dennis has been promoted to second behind Rowland, whilst Maserati's Maximilian Günther has progressed into third, securing a home rostrum for the Italian manufacturer.

Regarding why da Costa has been disqualified, the FIA stated: "At post-race scrutineering the Throttle Damper Spring mounted in car 13 during the race was not found in conformity with one of the 3 optional items declared in the Gen3 Spark Catalogue document.

"The team manager and the representative of the manufacturer explained that since the beginning of season 9 they have not changed the Throttle Damper Spring.The team manager accepted that the sealed part, as shown in the attachment of the Technical Report 13 was mounted in car 13 and was sealed in the presence of the chief mechanic of the team.

"The team manager stated also that on the Spark list (pedals) the sealed part is not listed. He explained that normally changes of the Spark catalogue are highlighted so everybody can see the changes, but not the removements.

The FIA Technical Delegate confirmed this procedure. The representatives of Spark confirmed that this part was listed on the part list of the Gen2 cars, but not on the current Gen3 car.

"They also confirmed that the removal of parts from that catalogue are not highlighted nor canceled. The Competitor is responsible for the conformity of the car and even if there is no performance advantage the car has to comply with the Regulations (Article 1.3.3 of theInternational Sporting Code).

Due to this result the car has to be disqualified from the race."

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