Illegal spring cost Da Costa victory in Formula E, Rowland new winner
General
Antonio Felix da Costa has lost the win just hours after his victory in the E-Prix in Misano. The Portuguese driver was disqualified due to a technical violation on his Posrche. Da Costa was found to have a spring on his throttle valve, but this spring is no longer allowed in 2024. Due to the disqualification, Oliver Rowland automatically moves up to first and takes the win at the E-Prix in Italy.
According to the FIA, Porsche has stated that the spring was not replaced since season nine. The team had apparently missed the fact that it cannot be used in the current season. While it is true that the motorsport federation admits that there is no advantage to be gained from this spring, Porsche must comply with the regulations. Since that did not happen, the FIA had no choice but to take away Da Costa's win.
Da Costa doesn't understand decision
For Da Costa, the win earlier in the day in Misano came as no surprise. The Portuguese had been under pressure due to disappointing performances and Nico Müller was reportedly ready to take over his seat even during the season. With the victory, Da Costa thought he had given himself some air again. Of course, the Portuguese himself could do nothing about the offence and was obviously extremely disappointed. He revealed via Instagram: "The throttle damper spring was an original part from Spark (the supplier, ed.) that was used all of last year and been removed from the rulebook without notification to the teams... how many other cars out there are on this spring?"
Porsche has since indicated that they will appeal the decision. In any case, Oliver Rowland has now been declared the winner of the race. The new championship leader thus picks up his second career FE win, the first since 2020. Jake Dennis advanced to second place, Max Günther (Maserati) moved up to third.