FUMING Antonio Felix da Costa says Techeetah team-mate Jean-Eric Vergne cost him victory in Chile.
Da Costa was held up by two-time FE champion Vergne during the Santiago ePrix as he charged from tenth to first place.
Antonio Felix da Costa finished second after losing his lead on the last lap
The Portuguese driver held the lead before conceding the victory to Max Gunther on the final lap.
But Da Costa says the time he wasted battling with Vergne, who had damage and carbon fibre scraping along the track, cost him the win.
When asked if the exchange had ruined his chance of victory, Da Costa said: “Yes. We will talk about it [later].”
Da Costa made the switch from BMW to Techeetah and believed his new team did not provide him with accurate information during the race.
He added: “I just think I wasn’t being fed the right information and maybe all of the information.
“I was being told I was ‘all good’ and then from one lap to the other we go from being ‘all good’ to being in ‘big trouble’.
“I don’t think everything was well managed, it’s a new crew, it’s a new group put together, we’re learning as we go, so we will go home and try and learn.”
Antonio Felix da Costa showed frustration after the race
Vergne defended his dogged attitude and decision to hold up his team-mate while carrying damage and struggling for pace.
The Frenchman said: “I was still racing at that point.”
He added: “In the first lap I had contact and the front wing was bouncing a little bit, but it was no more of a problem than that.
“So it was a surprise to see it broken towards the end because I was coming back and I had a really good chance of winning it.”
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Source: Motorsport - thesun.co.uk
