The opening three rounds of Season 10 have been massively disappointing for Antonio Felix da Costa, who entered 2024 having looked sharp last October in pre-season testing.
Back in Valencia last October, Da Costa set the second-fastest time and separated the Jaguar duo of Mitch Evans and Nick Cassidy. As a result, many expected him to be a frontrunner in the opening rounds.
Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case. His season got off to a shocking start in Mexico City, where he qualified all the way down in P16. The race was no better for him, as he retired in the opening stages after hitting Nico Müller at Turn 3.
Following the collision, Da Costa was slapped with a three-place grid penalty for the first race of the Diriyah double-header, where his season failed to get into gear. He started 20th in the opening race in the Middle East and only recovered to 16th. In the second race in Saudi Arabia, he qualified even lower in 21st but did make up good ground to finish in P14.
It means that he still hasn't scored a point this year, something which is already hurting the factory Porsche squad in the Constructors' Championship, as Jaguar are escaping.
To add to the Portuguese driver's woes, Pascal Wehrlein sits second in the Drivers' Championship and started Season 10 emphatically, by converting pole position into victory in Mexico City.
The Season 6 Champion needs to improve quickly, starting in São Paulo in two weeks time. Da Costa and Porsche have used the five weeks' since Diriyah to their advantage, with the 32-year-old having used the time to not only "reset" but also to work with the Stuttgart-based team to understand why he's been unable to unlock the pace from what is a very competitive package.
"The break was good to reset and to understand what we can do better, because we all know how to be fast," said Da Costa. "We put our heads down to do our best."
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