Da Costa Warns Jaguar Cannot Rely on “Win or Bust” Formula

Antonio Felix da Costa has admitted his chances of winning the Formula E world championship could be damaged by inconsistent race results with Jaguar TCS Racing. The Portuguese driver believes Jaguar has fallen into a dangerous “win or bust” pattern during the opening phase of the 2026 season.

Da Costa has enjoyed an impressive start to life at Jaguar following his departure from Porsche. He immediately secured back-to-back victories in Jeddah and Madrid while also establishing himself as one of the strongest qualifying performers on the grid. Heading into the Monaco E-Prix, the former Formula E world champion has yet to qualify outside the top 10.

However, despite his strong one-lap pace, Da Costa’s race results have lacked the consistency normally required for a championship campaign. Across the first eight races of the season, his two victories remain his only podium finishes.

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Outside of those wins, Da Costa’s best additional result has been fifth place during the opening race of the Jeddah double-header. The situation has convinced the Portuguese driver that Jaguar must begin focusing on consistent points finishes even during weekends where victory pace is unavailable.

"I have the feeling that we either win or we don't score, and that's not the way to win a championship," Da Costa told RacingNews365.

"I'm very critical of myself. Even in Berlin race one, although a few small things really hurt us, I think a podium was definitely possible," he added.

From a technical standpoint, Jaguar has shown one of the strongest qualifying packages in Formula E, particularly in tyre activation and short-run energy deployment. However, over longer race distances the team has occasionally struggled to maintain rear tyre stability and optimal energy efficiency during the final stages of races.

Those weaknesses became particularly visible in Berlin, where Da Costa demonstrated excellent outright speed but failed to convert it into major points. During the second Tempelhof race, the Portuguese driver also lost ground after being hit from behind.

"I always try to look at whether I can do something differently or better. At the end of the day, we need those P5s, P6s and P7s consistently. Then when the wins come, we'll take them, but we need to keep scoring points," Da Costa explained.

Da Costa also admitted Formula E creates enormous emotional swings because race weekends can change dramatically within a matter of hours. He described the championship as a rollercoaster where drivers can feel unbeatable one day before facing frustration the next.

With the Monaco E-Prix expected to become one of the most strategic events of the Formula E season, consistency is now viewed as being more important than outright pace alone. Jaguar is likely to focus heavily on improving race pace stability and energy management efficiency to keep Da Costa firmly in the title fight through the remainder of the championship.