Simone Biles secures third trip to the Olympics after breezing to victory at US trials

Jeddah - Yasmine El Tohamy - PORTLAND: In a thrilling weekend, Antonio Felix da Costa delivered a spectacular double victory for TAG Heuer Porsche in Portland and marked his third consecutive win in front of enthusiastic fans at the Hankook Portland E-Prix.

His triumph came amid high on-track drama which once again highlighted masterful race management by da Costa and TAG Heuer Porsche. The third-in-a-row win means da Costa equals his own 2019 record for the longest win streak in Formula E.

Round 14 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship saw a defining moment of the season when current standings leader Nick Cassidy of Jaguar TCS Racing failed to score points for the second consecutive race. As a result, Mitch Evans and Pascal Wehrlein are now neck-and-neck in second place, setting the stage for an intense showdown at the upcoming London finale.

Joining da Costa on the podium was Robin Frijns, who celebrated his 100th Formula E race with back-to-back podium finishes for Envision Racing. Mitch Evans, representing Jaguar TCS Racing, claimed third. The race was rife with pivotal moments, including Pascal Wehrlein dramatically losing his front wing early on. Despite this setback Wehrlein finished fourth, keeping his championship hopes alive.

Less fortunate were NEOM McLaren and Mahindra Racing, who both experienced a series of retirements due to errors, punctures and on-track collisions.

Jean-Eric Vergne, who started on pole, secured a solid fifth-place finish for DS PENSKE while ABT CUPRA’s Nico Muller delivered an impressive sixth place.

Norman Nato finished seventh for Andretti, followed by Maximilian Guenther for Maserati MSG Racing in eighth. Sebastien Buemi claimed ninth for Envision Racing, despite a penalty, ahead of reigning World Champion Jake Dennis who rounded out the top ten for Andretti Formula E. 

As the championship heads to London, the battle for the top spot is more intense than ever, promising fans a thrilling conclusion to the season. The Hankook London E-Prix double-header season finale will take place on July 20-21.

António Felix da Costa, No. 13, Tag Heuer Porsche Formula E, said: “This is crazy. I’m happy, I’m emotional, I’m angry, I’m everything. I’m just glad that I’m getting to ride this wave right now — I know it doesn’t last forever. I’ve been on it before, I’ve been out of it before, so I’m just going to try and keep doing things right. I’m going to enjoy this moment. A lot of people in this world live by the motto of never giving up but I think we’re going to a completely new degree of that if I’m honest!”

Robin Frijns, No. 4, Envision Racing, said: “Today was a good way to bounce back, definitely. We had a tough one, and I have to say the team did a mega job. We prepared well for this race, and we delivered, so I’m really happy with P2. Unfortunately, we just missed out on the win — it was closer than yesterday, but having a double podium, I’ll take it. This season has been a struggle, I wanted to bounce back, I knew I could do it and I knew the team could do it, so here I am.”

Mitch Evans, No. 9, Jaguar TCS Racing, said: “It’s nice after what happened yesterday, I’m finding it hard to get over it, I think it was still a ludicrous decision. It was hard to take so it’s nice to come back and get something today. We didn’t optimize qualifying on my side and the starting position wasn’t optimal for the second race, but it was a really hard-fought race. To get myself to the front I again had to do my attack quite late just because of the way the race was playing out, and I had to consume a lot of energy to make those overtakes with the high targets. I was a sitting duck at the end, but it gave me track position so good points. Obviously I would have loved to win, but after the Safety Car things really sped up, and third was the best we could do.

“Obviously it’s unfortunate what happened to Nyck [de Vries] but I came into this weekend just wanting to do my thing and see what happened. We’ll go into London close to Pascal [Wehrlein] and it’s going to be tight between us. Antonio [Felix da Costa] must be close as well, he’s won every race — at least it feels like it — in the past half a season. It’s going to be a big fight between us and Porsche, for sure.”

2024 Hankook Portland E-Prix attended by local stars

Sung Kang, the renowned actor and car enthusiast best known for his role in the ‘Fast and Furious’ series, returned to the Portland International Raceway for Round 14 of the double-header weekend.

Kang was thrilled to reunite with driver Lucas di Grassi at the ABT Garage, rekindling their camaraderie from the 2024 Tokyo E-Prix. Adding to the excitement, Kang also reconnected with his friend and influencer Emilia Hartford, who brought her vibrant energy to Portland just as she did to Tokyo earlier in the season. 

Meanwhile, the presence of three-time W Series champion and Andretti Global INDY NXT driver Jamie Chadwick was notable, as she supported fellow Andretti Global drivers and served as a driver analyst for the broadcast team.

Chadwick delivered an electrifying performance, driving the GEN3 Formula E car for the first time and reaching speeds of over 150 km/h. She also took racing legend and Andretti Global team owner Michael Andretti on a hot lap in a Porsche Taycan.

Additionally, Portland Thorns football players Morgan Weaver and Olivia Moultrie enjoyed meet-and-greets with drivers and tours of the Andretti garage. Earlier in the week, Portland Timbers footballers James Pantemis and Evander da Silva Ferreira toured the paddock, sat in the GEN3 car, and met with drivers Sacha Fenestraz and Sergio Sette Camara from the Nissan Formula E Team and ERT Formula E Team respectively.