Formula E: Da Costa rejected all accusations from Verlaine.
The main outcome of the Formula E season finale that took place yesterday in London was Pascal Wehrlein's second championship title. However, after the finish, the Porsche driver accused his rivals from the Jaguar team, primarily António Félix da Costa, of unsportsmanlike conduct on the track.
"The driving style that Antonio demonstrated is the most unsportsmanlike and inappropriate I've ever seen. I don't forget such things," Wehrlein said at the time. We quoted his indignant comment – however, is it surprising that the Portuguese driver responded in a similar vein?
António rejected all accusations against him and stated what everyone who followed the events on the London track over the weekend saw: Jaguar's tactics were provoked by the actions of the Porsche drivers. Moreover, da Costa claimed that Wehrlein intentionally collided with Jake Dennis, the Andretti driver, to prevent the Brit from becoming the world champion.
"I won't deny it, they annoyed me a bit with their games that they played on Saturday," António commented after the finish. "So we came up with a tactic that disrupted their tactical scheme and didn't allow them to play those games.
From the very first lap of the race, Müller started doing the same thing as on Saturday (i.e., holding up the pack), and I'm glad I was able to put an end to it. We didn't take any actions different from what they were doing. We did nothing wrong. They started those games, and we decided to play them too, and we did it a bit better.
They can't treat the others like that without expecting a response. I don't want to race like this, but since they use such tactics, we will too."
At a later stage of the race, da Costa was following Wehrlein and saw him collide with Jake Dennis's electric car before the 20th turn of the track, as well as hit Joel Eriksson's car, the Envision driver. As a result, both title contenders earned no points on Sunday, but this did not prevent Pascal from becoming the world champion for the second time.
Dennis, who finished second in the season, was also very upset with his rival's actions after the finish and called them "indecent."
"I understand everything perfectly, it was a very dirty move," António stated. "He deliberately took Jake out to secure the title for himself. Well, worthy methods, and they say a lot about what he allows himself, but it's not my place to comment on that. Two weeks ago in Tokyo, he did the same thing to me, so I'm not surprised.
I've heard him talk about me more than once, but if he wants, he can come over, and we can have a chat."
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Formula E: Da Costa rejected all accusations from Verlaine.
After the season finale, Pascal Wehrlein accused Antonio Felix da Costa of unsportsmanlike methods of fighting, and, of course, these words did not go unanswered...
