Formula E Series champion Antonio Felix da Costa will be testing for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing’s NTT IndyCar Series team Nov. 2 at Barber Motorsports Park.
It will be the first time in an IndyCar for the five-time winner in Formula E.
The 29-year-old native of Cascais, Portugal, will be among several IndyCar drivers testing at Barber the week after the Oct. 25 season finale at St. Petersburg, Florida.
“I have never hidden the fact that it’s a big dream of mine to come try out an Indy car,” da Costa said in a team release. “I am a big fan of how America, and IndyCar in particular, goes about the sport and have been a huge fan for many years.
“I have known Bobby for a few years. We always met at the BMW Christmas dinners and every year I kept saying ‘Come on, let me have a go,’ and finally now I got the call to come meet the team and test. It’s very exciting times for me and something I have been looking forward to a lot. The first contact with the team has been very positive and everyone has been friendly. I can see there is a high level of professionalism in the team which was to be expected. I’m excited to get on track.”
INDY CAR TEST! This will be fun! Massive thanks to @RLLracing for the shot! Always wanted to come and try one of these! See you in Barber November 2nd. @IndyCar pic.twitter.com/BneJtGw1LM
— Antonio Felix da Costa (@afelixdacosta) October 14, 2020
With Graham Rahal expecting his first child with wife Courtney, he would be unable to attend the test.
Antonio Felix da Costa won the 2020 Formula E championship in August after a season with three victories.
“We were unable to maximize a full team test using one of our three days, since Graham is waiting for the arrival of his first child so this enables us to test a young and very accomplished driver in Antonio Félix da Costa,” team co-owner Bobby Rahal said in a release. “Through our partnership with BMW on the sports car side, we have followed his career and are excited to see what he can do in an Indy car.”
The team has yet to announce its 2021 driver lineup, but Rahal said after Takuma Sato’s Indianapolis 500 victory that he hopes the two-time Indy 500 winner can return and also left open the possibility of expanding to a third car with adequate sponsorship.