Antonio Felix da Costa joins Andretti for third Formula E season - MotorSportsTalk

MS Amlin Andretti has confirmed the signing of Antonio Felix da Costa for the third season of FIA Formula E, due to start in Hong Kong on October 9.

Da Costa raced for Team Aguri in the first two seasons of Formula E, winning the inaugural Buenos Aires ePrix in January 2015 and finishing the last campaign 13th in the drivers’ championship despite racing with a season one powertrain.

Da Costa confirmed over the London ePrix weekend that he would be leaving Team Aguri at the end of the season, with the rebranding Techeetah operation partnering Jean-Eric Vergne with Ma Qinghua for season three.

On Wednesday, Andretti confirmed that da Costa would be joining for the new season, partnering Robin Frijns.

“To join Andretti Formula E is a big thing for me. I have always loved the way Americans go racing, and how they do sports in general,” da Costa said.

“I’m a big fan of IndyCar and, to me, Andretti Autosport has always been an iconic team. To finally be able to say that I’m joining and racing for this amazing team and family is a big deal.

“We have a great team in place, the MS Amlin car looks good and the people around me are super professional. I’m ready to get the season started.”

“We’re very excited to have Antonio join the team for season three,” Andretti team owner Michael Andretti added.

“I feel adding him is going to give us one of the strongest driver line-ups in the field. We’ve been watching Antonio over the last two seasons and I feel he has been very impressive on the racetrack.

“It will be great to be racing with him, instead of against him.”

Da Costa has already conducted testing with Andretti using its new in-house powertrain for season three, and will also work alongside Frijns at Donington Park over the six days of collective testing coming up.

Da Costa has previously expressed an interest in trying out IndyCar, and this move may open up a door for him to race in the United States in the future.

Frijns enjoyed his first test with Andretti at Mid-Ohio last month, lapping just a couple of tenths slower than full-time driver Ryan Hunter-Reay.

For now though, da Costa’s focus will be on hitting the ground running in season three and mounting a title bid for the American team.

His arrival is thought to link in with a future tie-up for BMW and Andretti, the former currently fielding da Costa in DTM.

The move does however leave Simona de Silvestro without a seat, although her departure from Andretti’s Formula E operation had been expected after a difficult campaign that yielded just two points finishes.

Michael Andretti told NBC Sports that it was possible that de Silvestro would remain within the Andretti racing setup in some shape or form, but it remains to be seen whether a role comes to fruition.

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An IndyCar executive said there is “absolutely” disappointment that its long-awaited video game recently was delayed beyond its target date, but the series remains optimistic about the new title.

“Well, I don’t know how quick it will be, but the whole situation is important to us,” Penske Entertainment president and CEO Mark Miles said during a news conference Monday morning to announce IndyCar’s NTT title sponsorship. “Motorsport Games has spent a lot of money, a lot of effort to create an IndyCar title. What we’ve seen of that effort, which is not completely obvious, is very reassuring.

“I think it’s going to be outstanding. That’s our shared objective, that when it is released, it’s just widely accepted. A great credit both to IndyCar racing, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, something that our fans love.”

In June 2021, IndyCar announced a new partnership with Motorsport Games to create and distribute an IndyCar video game for the PC and Xbox and PlayStation consoles in 2023.

But during an earnings call last week, Motorsport Games said the IndyCar game had been delayed to 2024 to ensure high quality.

Somewhat compounding the delay is that IndyCar’s license for iRacing expired after the end of the 2022 season because of its exclusive agreement with Motorsport Games.

That’s resulted in significant changes for IndyCar on iRacing, which had provided a high-profile way for the series to stay visible during its 2020 shutdown from the pandemic. (Players still can race an unbranded car but don’t race on current IndyCar tracks, nor can they stream).

That’s helped ratchet up the attention on having a video game outlet for IndyCar.

“I wish we had an IndyCar title 10 years ago,” said Miles, who has been working with the organization since 2013. “We’ve been close, but we’ve had these I think speed bumps.”

IndyCar is hopeful the Motorsports Game edition will be ready at the start of 2024. Miles hinted that beta versions could be unveiled to reporters ahead of the time “to begin to show the progress in a narrow way to make sure we’ve got it right, to test the progress so that we’re ready when they’re ready.”

It’s been nearly 18 years since the release of the most recent IndyCar video game for console or PC.

“(We) better get it right,” Miles said. “It’s something we’re very close to and continue to think about what it is to make sure we get it over the line in due course.”