The Portuguese driver won’t proceed with the Jota Porsche Hypercar squad subsequent season on the request of his employer in Method E.
Da Costa, FE champion in 2019/20 with DS Techeetah and LMP2 WEC champion with Jota in 2022, admitted disappointment that he won’t be able to proceed to race for the British crew alongside his Porsche commitments.
“I’m a little bit bit unhappy, however I perceive why folks increased up than me have determined this,” he mentioned.
“Porsche has given me the chance to race its automobile in FE, so if I’ve to make this compromise, I’ll.
“However the title of my occupation is racing driver, so in my eyes I ought to be racing each weekend.”
Da Costa, 32, instructed that he had no issues endeavor a double programme, one thing he has performed since 2014 when he dovetailed racing in FE for the Aguri crew with a DTM marketing campaign driving for the BMW MTEK squad.
“I do know myself higher than anybody else, and I feel I handle my health and fatigue ranges nicely,” he defined.
“I’ve by no means missed a race in my profession.”
Picture by: Malcolm Griffiths / Motorsport Images
Antonio Felix da Costa, Porsche, Porsche 99X Electrical Gen3
Da Costa revealed that he had a deal in place to proceed with Jota in one of many two Porsche 963 LMDhs it plans to run within the WEC subsequent 12 months.
The crew would have allowed him to overlook the Spa spherical in Might, which clashes with the Berlin FE race, he mentioned.
He didn’t rule out returning to the WEC for a one-off on the Le Mans 24 Hours subsequent 12 months.
“I’ve had plenty of calls about Le Mans and I wouldn’t say no, however I haven’t gone again to Porsche about that,” he mentioned.
Da Costa careworn that he expects to return to the WEC full time in some unspecified time in the future sooner or later.
“For certain I shall be again: I’ve been on the rostrum in GTE Professional and received the championship in P2, and I wish to try this within the prime class,” he mentioned.
“That’s why I’m unhappy, as a result of this 12 months I’d moved up into the highest class and I’m no longer going to get that likelihood subsequent 12 months.”
Picture by: Porsche
#38 Hertz Group Jota Porsche 963: Antonio Felix da Costa, Yifei Ye, Will Stevens
Da Costa first raced within the WEC as a BMW manufacturing unit driver with the German producer’s M8 GTE in 2018/19, earlier than transferring into the prototype ranks with Jota the next season.
His LMP2 profession with Jota peaked final 12 months with the category title and victory at Le Mans alongside Will Stevens and Roberto Gonzalez earlier than the crew’s transfer as much as Hypercar from this 12 months’s Spa spherical in April.
He’s racing its solo 963 alongside Will Stevens and Yifei Ye.
Porsche’s choice leaves a spot within the Jota’s line-up for subsequent 12 months, which may have included some star signings.
The crew has admitted that it’s in talks with Method 1 world champions Sebastian Vettel and Jenson Button, in addition to Robert Kubica.