JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — After a day of intense strategy and high-speed drama under the lights, Antonio Felix da Costa secured his first victory for the Jaguar TCS Racing team in commanding style at Round 5 of the Jeddah E-Prix on Saturday . The Portuguese driver mastered a chaotic, energy-critical race to cross the line 2.5 seconds clear of the field, marking his first win since Portland in 2024 .
In a race that saw the lead change hands multiple times, the strategic deployment of Attack Mode proved decisive. While Edoardo Mortara claimed his second consecutive pole position for Mahindra, it was da Costa who played the long game perfectly . As the lead group shuffled positions to manage energy, da Costa waited for the optimal moment to take his 50kW boosts. His pace after activating the mode was unstoppable, allowing him to blast past reigning champion Oliver Rowland on Lap 20 and never look back .
“I’ve managed to get my car in the right place at the right time to give myself a chance for victory,” said a jubilant da Costa. “The team guided me through it; the strategy was spot on with the Attack Mode timings. It’s not easy to join a new team, so to get this first win in only our fifth race is incredible” .
Behind the leader, a fierce battle raged for the remaining podium positions. Sébastien Buemi delivered a masterclass in defense and aggression for Envision Racing, climbing from seventh on the grid to secure a hard-fought second place . Nissan’s Oliver Rowland completed the podium in third, a strong recovery after a difficult first race .
Polesitter Mortara, who led early on, had to settle for fourth after being caught up in the frantic midfield battles, narrowly missing the podium . The CUPRA KIRO team impressed with both cars in the top six, Dan Ticktum and Pepe Marti finishing fifth and sixth respectively, albeit after some late-race intra-team contact .
Saturday’s victory belonged to da Costa and Jaguar, but Round 4 winner Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche) managed to salvage eighth place . This result was enough for the German to maintain his lead in the Drivers’ standings, though his advantage was cut to just six points over the consistent Mortara, with Rowland now third .
The Formula E paddock will now pack up and head to Madrid, where the championship battle resumes in Round 6 on March 21st .
