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    Formula E: Antonio Felix Da Costa reveals how he went up a gear during lockdown as he closes in on first FE title

    ANTONIO FELIX DA COSTA has driven like a man possessed since Formula E’s return after 158 days out.
    Da Costa comfortably won the first two races since the restart and now has a whopping 68-point lead in the drivers’ championship.

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    Antonio Felix Da Costa boasts a 68-point lead in the title-race
    And with just four races remaining he seems nailed on to win his first ever FE title with the season coming to a close in Berlin on August 13.
    The Techeetah driver told SunSport how he managed to go up a gear during lockdown.
    He said: “I came into Berlin and I just wanted to make sure that if we don’t win it [the title], I would never blame myself for not being the best version of me.
    “I trained a lot, I recovered – I am healthier than I was before the lockdown.

    “For four or five years now I have been doing a double or triple motorsport programme between FE, being an F1 reserve driver, DTM and WEC.
    “It’s 150 flights a year and my body needed a break. 
    “So in a way these three months really helped me to reset, recover, get rid of pains I’ve had here and there.
    “I’ve trained and I started working with a mental coach as well, so I wanted to make sure I ticked every box. 

    “And if we did not win in the end, I did not want to blame myself for not training.”
    The next double header for Da Costa is on Saturday and Sunday this weekend, where he will hope to extend his lead in the title race.

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    Antonio Felix da Costa made it back-to-back wins on Formula E’s return

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    But Da Costa is aware his rivals will close the gap on him in the remaining races in Berlin.
    He added: “It’s all going to come down to have clean days and making no mistakes.
    “I am for sure expecting everyone to get closer and closer but that is why it was so important to get these two wins in the bag.”

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    Formula E: Antonio Felix Da Costa comfortably wins second race in as many days in Berlin

    ANTONIO FELIX DA COSTA strengthened his grip on the Formula E title after winning two races in as many days in Berlin. 
    Da Costa became the second driver to win both races in a FE double header, as he made it three wins on the bounce.

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    Antonio Felix Da Costa wins both races as part of first double header in Berlin
    The Techeetah driver extended his lead in the title race to 68 points with four races remaining, with the season ending on August 13.
    Da Costa said: “It was so hard, [Sebastien] Buemi kept me honest the whole race.
    “Yesterday we were a bit quicker, but there was never a moment there where I had to keep looking in my wing mirrors and the engineers kept me under control.”
    Ex-F1 driver Buemi finished second ahead of fellow former FE champion Lucas Di Grassi – who secured his second podium of the season for Audi.

    Da Costa’s title rivals Mitch Evans and Alex Sims both failed to score points while Stoffel Vandoorne finished fifth.
    Da Costa’s team-mate and reigning two-time FE champion Jean-Eric Vergne has had a nightmare return since FE’s restart.
    Vergne failed to finish the opening race in Berlin before finishing tenth the following day.
    The all-electric series will have one day off before another double header at the historic Tempelhof Airport in Berlin this weekend. 

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    The circuit will remain the same, but direction of the race will be reversed and Da Costa expects his rivals to catch up to him on Saturday.
    He added: “I think day by day everyone’s going to get closer and closer. 
    “We saw that already today, so I’m expecting it to be tough in the next races.”

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    Formula E chairman and co-founder Alejandro Agag tests positive for Covid-19 and misses his first ever race

    FORMULA E chairman and co-founder Alejandro Agag will miss the final six races of the season in Berlin after testing positive for Covid-19. 
    Agag was forced to miss his first ever FE race after announcing he had contracted Covid-19 on social media.

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    Alejandro Agag will miss the season finale after contracting Covid-19Credit: EPA
    Agag’s announcement came just days after Mahindra team principal Dilbagh Gill revealed he had tested positive for the coronavirus.
    Agag said: “Congratulations [Da Costa] for a great win in Berlin race one. 
    “So sad to miss my first Formula E race ever, that I had to watch from my room in Berlin.
     “I tested positive for COVID on arrival and I am following all the excellent protocols we have in place to keep everyone safe.

     “Missing everyone in the Paddock!”

    FE have conducted 1,423 tests in Berlin ahead of their season showdown – with Agag and Gill being the only two confirmed positive tests so far.
    The all-electric series have cut down their personnel on site from roughly 5000 people down to just 1000 to fulfill legal requirements in Germany. 
    Each team is only allowed to have 21 members at the track, which includes the two drivers and team principal. All staff members will be tested at the track every five to seven days.

    FE have five more races to come with the season coming to a close on August 13.

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    Antonio Felix Da Costa wins back-to-back races on Formula E’s restart after 158-day break

    ANTONIO FELIX DA COSTA made it back-to-back wins for the first time in his Formula E career with 158 days between the two victories.
    FE restarted in Berlin with the first of their final six races in the space of just nine days as Da Costa extended his lead in the title race.

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    Antonio Felix da Costa made it back-to-back wins on Formula E’s return
    Da Costa defended wheel-to-wheel from his teammate and two-time FE champion Jean-Eric Vergne to secure his first win after his last win back in February.
    Da Costa said: “Everyone is talking to me like there’s one race left because of the stop and we’re only here on one trip but there’s six races to go.
    “Everyone is just assuming that I have to win it and it’s a lot of pressure, I take it well.
    “If there’s pressure it means it’s something important, I want to tell everyone that yes I want to win it, but there’s a long way to go.”

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    Brit Sam Bird battled his way into third place in the final stage of the race from seventh to propel himself into title contention.
    Jaguar’s Mitch Evans was second in the drivers’ standings before the race but crashed in the final stages and finished outside of the points.
    It was a torrid time for Vergne who dropped like a stone from second place to 20th before retiring – allowing Andre Lotterer to finish second.

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    British Formula E star Sims rounded up spare PPE to support NHS with Mercedes and Williams among those to donate

    BRITISH Formula E star Alexander Sims will battle for the title in Berlin after helping fight against the Coronavirus during lockdown. 
    The BMW driver travelled around the motorsport community in the UK to help donate a huge bundle of PPE to the NHS.

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    Alex Sims helped donate a huge amount of PPE to the NHS
    Sims visited Formula One and FE teams ,as well as other contacts within the industry, to hoover up any spare equipment.
    The 32-year-old received support from Mercedes, Williams, Alpha Tauri in the F1 world as well as from Virgin, Andretti, Mahindra and NIO in FE.
    He told SunSport: “I just went through my contacts in motorsport and asked them if they were sitting on any PPE in their workshops, factories and sheds and if they were willing to give any of it up for the NHS.
    “I had a great response from all sorts of different teams in motorsport and some stand-alone mechanics.

    “I drove around and picked it all up – I was willing to go nationwide but all the locations were reasonably central to one location. 

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    “I started off in Surrey and finished off near Leicester. 
    “I only have a small van but it was fairly full, things were stacked up and when I dropped it off to the NHS it took a while to unpack.
    “It was really lovely that they gave up their equipment – it probably got used up in a matter of days with the amount of kit the NHS goes through, but for those days it helps.”

    Sims is third in the title race as FE will end the season in the space of just nine days with six races, starting from Wednesday.

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    Formula E team boss Dilbagh Gill tests positive for Covid-19 and will miss final six races

    FORMULA E team boss Dilbagh Gill has tested positive for Covid-19 and will miss the final six races of the season.
    Mahindra team principal Gill will be absent for the season showdown in Berlin as FE will thrash out the remaining six races in just nine days.

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    Mahindra team principal Dilbagh Gill is set to miss the final six races of the seasonCredit: Formula E
    FE’s first race since February gets underway on Wednesday, with Gill announcing his positive test just a day before the restart.
    Gill said: “The first thing to get off my chest is that I have tested positive for Covid-19 in the first test.
    “I’m under isolation at this point in time and waiting for my second test.
    “I do not have any symptoms and I’m feeling quite well so I think that’s something from my side.

    “I feel a bit bummed that I’m not able to help the team at this point in time but it’s best for everyone’s health that I’m away.”
    He added: “We had expected that there might have to be some team changes going forward because of Covid-19. Everyone had a back-up.
    “As of now, the initial instructions is to spend 10 to 14 days in isolation, so yes, I think the finale is going to be in this hotel room for me.”

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    FE released a statement to say of their 1,423 tests in Berlin, only two tests were positive.

    Their statement said: “As of Monday, August 3, 1,421 people tested received negative results and two received positive results.
    “The two individuals have entered self-quarantine in accordance with the instructions of the relevant public health authorities and will continue to follow the procedure mandated by those authorities.
    “In both instances, the FIA Formula E Championship’s in-depth protocol has been closely followed.”

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    British Formula E star Sam Bird makes huge switch to Jaguar from Virgin Racing

    BRITISH Formula E star Sam Bird has made the big switch from Virgin to Jaguar.
    Bird, 33, has competed in every FE race since the all-electric series started in 2014 and is the only driver to have won a race in each season.

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    Sam Bird will join Jaguar at the start of next seasonCredit: Formula E
    Bird will finish the remainder of this campaign with Virgin in what will be a six-race showdown in the space of nine days in Berlin before joining Jaguar for next season.
    The experienced driver will join Jaguar’s current title contender Mitch Evans, who is second in the championship by 11 points.
    Bird will say farewell to Virgin after being with the team for six years, since the first FE race in Beijing in 2014.
    Bird said: “I am really looking forward to a new chapter in my Formula E career with Panasonic Jaguar.

    “I have watched Jaguar’s growth and progress in the series and am very proud to be driving for an iconic British brand with such a successful racing DNA and joining an incredible list of drivers that have raced for the brand.
    “I am incredibly hungry for success and I believe that together with Mitch we can achieve great things for the team and ourselves.
    “I want to thank Envision Virgin Racing for everything we have achieved together and wish them well for the future.
    “After Berlin, I can’t wait to test the Jaguar I-TYPE and be in the best place possible for season seven and beyond.”

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    Sam Bird will join title-contender Mitch Evans next season
    Jaguar’s team director James Barclay is licking his lips at the prospect of having two title contenders next year.
    Bird took the fight for the championship to the final race weekend in 2018 against two-time FE champion Jean-Eric Vergne.
    Barclay said: “With Mitch and Sam we believe that we have arguably one of the strongest driver line-ups on the grid.
    “With extremely close competition it is clear that to be successful in Formula E you need two drivers who can be competing for podiums at every race.
    “We now have two proven race winners that are capable of enabling us to challenge for both team and driver championship titles next season.”

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