Porsche 'working intensively' to end Da Costa's rut

Porsche Team Principal Florian Modlinger has revealed that the factory outfit is "working intensively" with Antonio Felix da Costa, to try and get him into the points in the coming races.

After a really positive pre-season for Da Costa, the Season 6 Champion has made a miserable start to Season 10, where he's shown little pace. The Portuguese driver is the only Porsche-powered driver yet to score a point and is quickly falling out of title contention.

His poor start to 2024 has also hurt the factory Porsche squad in the Teams' Championship, as it is currently solely reliant on Pascal Wehrlein's 38 points. In the opening three races in Mexico City and Diriyah, Da Costa has qualified no higher than P16, whilst his best result is 14th in the third round.

Porsche needs Da Costa to find the pace he showed in pre-season testing last October and in the inaugural Cape Town E-Prix almost a year ago, where he claimed a famous win.

“We’re working intensively with António," said Modlinger. "To be without points after three races is a disappointment for him and us, as well. We have a competitive car and António has proven in the past that he can win races with different cars in all kinds of championships.

"We’re focussing on working with him specifically on his single-lap pace, which means that we have to get him qualifying further up the grid. Last year he drove some sensational races, where he demonstrated his skill in fighting his way through traffic and gaining positions.

"Overtaking proved very difficult in the first three races of the year, which is why he wasn’t able to deliver a strong race performance.”

Da Costa's next chance to get his 2024 campaign up and running is in three weeks at the São Paulo E-Prix, where the 32-year-old progressed to the final to qualify second – his best qualifying result of 2023.

“António achieved his best qualifying result last year in São Paulo with second place," Modlinger added. "That’s sure to give him the motivation to demonstrate what he can do.

"It’s also hugely important for the team because one thing is clear: we need to find those last two/three-tenths of a second on a qualifying lap.

"After all, as a team we need two cars to finish consistently in the points to be able to compete for all the titles in this highly competitive world championship.”