Antonio Felix da Costa was proud to return Porsche's faith by securing the team victory at their home race, following a terrific performance in the second race of the Berlin E-Prix double-header.
Da Costa started the race in 10th but quickly made his way to the front, where he led large portions of the race. When not leading, the Season 6 champion was preserving his energy to perfection.
It allowed him to pull the pin in the closing few laps, to secure his first victory of 2024. The victory comes at a time when his future at Porsche is being speculated, following a recent test conducted by Abt Cupra's Nico Müller.
Nevertheless, Da Costa was thrilled to win on German soil and return the Stuttgart-based outfit's recent support.
"Yeah, it's awesome," said Da Costa. "For actually racing for a German team and winning on German soil is amazing. We have a lot of important people here this weekend.
"A lot of employees, a lot of guests and board members are here. So it's feels good to be able to give this back to them.
"But yeah, Berlin has been a good place for me in the past, it's also been cruel at times. But yeah, good memories here."
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'Awareness' crucial
Da Costa's in-race management was magnificent, as the Porsche driver avoided the vast majority of collisions. By keeping his car clean, he was in the ideal position for the final push.
The peloton-style was experienced once again in the second race in Berlin, causing a plethora of action in the opening laps.
Interestingly, Da Costa views the final laps as the most relaxed in the race, due to how much stress is experienced when the peloton is in full swing during the opening two-thirds of the event.
"It was, the closing stages are actually kind of the more calmer ones, it's the first 25-30 laps that are tricky," added Da Costa. "Awareness, I think is the key word here, trying to keep your car clean.
"Try and put it in the right place at the right time. Yesterday, we got it a little bit wrong, today I was able to be a bit smarter on my decisions and be at the front when the time matters. Also, we do have an efficient car and I'm able to build-up energy nicely.
"Obviously a lot of work goes into this, a lot of prep a lot of sim a lot of creating scenarios in your head and obviously raising so many competent drivers and teams.
"And on top of all of that you're going six wide and trying to save energy. It's just a mess, it's fun. It is fun, it is very stressful."
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