And we go green...
After a morning on the golf course, Formula E star António Félix da Costa takes his playing partners to Brands Hatch for more driving in the all-electric Taycan Turbo GT.
Considering his career involves chasing tenths of seconds, it’s perhaps a bit surprising that António Félix da Costa is late to meet us at Brands Hatch. But the TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E driver does have a valid excuse: he’s just partnered Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds for nine holes of golf, competing against keen golfers Andrew Dale (aka Ange) and football legend turned TV presenter Jimmy Bullard.
The 1,034 PS Taycan Turbo GT ...
... is the most powerful production Porsche of all time.Adding to the pressure, the four were being filmed for YouTube channel Golf Life, on which Ange is a presenter. Ange’s brother Peter Dale – better known as Tubes, co-presenter on Golf Life and Jimmy’s former colleague on Sky Sports’ Soccer AM – is also on hand.
‘That was a disaster,’ laughs da Costa when he finally arrives. ‘I was terrible!’ But Brands Hatch is his chance to turn the tables as the 2019/20 Formula E champion gives thrill rides in the new Porsche Taycan Turbo GT, the 1,034 PS (Taycan Turbo GT: Electric power consumption* combined (WLTP) 21.6 – 20.7 kWh/100 km, CO₂ emissions* combined (WLTP) 0 g/km, CO₂ class A ) all-electric sports saloon currently moonlighting as the official Formula E safety car.
With the Dales and Bullard as passengers, da Costa smears the Turbo GT into four-wheel drifts, demolishes straights and plunges into Paddock Hill Bend with his brake lights strobing and Pirelli Trofeo RS tyres screeching. It’s quite a performance, but then da Costa once led here from start to finish in a Formula 3 race, and is well-versed in Taycan dynamics, having just swapped his own model for the all-new all-electric Macan.
‘It’s insane what the Turbo GT does as a road-legal car,’ enthuses the 33-year-old Portuguese racer. ‘Even if it’s completely sideways in a corner, I just floor it, and the car knows what to give me and how to distribute the power front to rear.’ He’s also especially impressed by the Porsche Active Ride suspension, noting that ‘through the crest into turn one, I can really feel the car trying to give me the balance I want.’
Someone cheekily notes that da Costa is a better driver than a golfer. The Formula E veteran is relatively new to the game, having first picked up clubs only two years ago as a means of relaxation. Last year the fairways of his local course proved particularly therapeutic during his hardest season yet.
Brands Hatch is familiar territory for da Costa ...
... having won a Formula 3 Euro Series race at the circuit back in 2010.‘Even if it’s sideways in a corner, I just floor it, and the car knows what to give me’
António Félix da Costa
‘The beginning of last year was really tough,’ he acknowledges. ‘So I did some work on myself physically and mentally and just got my head down. Ultimately we broke the cycle.’
And that fortitude helped turn 2023/24 into another great season for Porsche. While his team-mate, Pascal Wehrlein, won the title, da Costa went on an incredible winning run in the second half of the campaign, with four victories in five races (at Berlin and Shanghai, followed by a double win at Portland). TAG Heuer Porsche ended the season as runners-up in the team standings.
‘To be able to bring ourselves back into contention for the championship really united us,’ says da Costa. ‘Now we’re more ready than ever for the good days, and especially the bad days. We’ve proved we’re unbreakable.’
The team’s focus has only intensified for 2024/25. ‘At Porsche the mentality is always to win, so no one has relaxed. The team’s still hungry, and we really want to bring the constructors’ championship back to Stuttgart.’
Electrifying performer:
As well as winning the Formula E title in 2019/20, da Costa has raced in GT cars, prototypes and touring cars, and has Le Mans 24 Hours class victories and podiums to his name.
Attack mode:
‘It's insane what the Turbo GT does as a road-legal car,’ says da Costa, who treated passengers to full-throttle laps of Brands Hatch in the Taycan Turbo GT.For the 2024/25 season, new regulations have thrown more curveballs into the mix, including the introduction of all-wheel drive for qualifying duels, race starts and in ‘Attack Mode’, the latter of which adds 50 kW of power for two short bursts of driving during the race.
‘I think it’s going to change the dynamic of the race a lot, and for the better,’ grins da Costa. ‘ATTACK MODE will now allow us to overtake because you can put the power down. That wasn’t really the case in the past couple of years, because we had way more power than grip. It’s also the first time I’ve ever driven on a track with all-wheel drive, so your lines change a little, and the way you set up the car changes a bit. It’s been a fun thing to understand.’
Laps and laughs:
(l-r) Peter ‘Tubes’ Dale, Jimmy Bullard and Jeff Dodds in the Brands Hatch pits.It didn’t take da Costa long to get to grips with the changes. At last December’s opening race, held on the São Paulo street circuit, he got the TAG Heuer Porsche team off to a flying start with 18 points for a second-place finish, plus a bonus point for recording the fastest lap. The 16-race season will reach its climax at the London E-Prix in July – and da Costa is targeting nothing less than his second title.
As for golf, he says he’ll be happy if his handicap falls below 18, so who knows… maybe next time he’ll give the Golf Life team a round to remember.
Further information
For more on the Taycan range, visit porsche.com/uk
Consumption data
Taycan Turbo GT
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21.6 – 20.7 kWh/100 km
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0 g/km
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A Class