- An incident‑fuelled afternoon, ultimately meant no points for either Jaguar TCS Racing driver, with António eventually finishing in P11, and Mitch unable to complete his race
- The team now look ahead to Round 2, which takes place in Mexico on 10 January 2026
António Félix da Costa and Mitch Evans qualified strongly in São Paulo, their respective starting positions of sixth and ninth giving them both the potential for strong points finishes.
At the race start, both António and Mitch avoided a first corner incident involving three other drivers, and then ran strongly towards the front of the pack as everyone managed their energy. After taking the first of their two, four‑minute, Attack Modes on lap nine, António and Mitch led the field running first and second respectively.
Just before the half‑way point, Mitch began to suffer from poor balance after contact which saw him fall back, while António continued to run in the top five before taking his second Attack Mode with seven laps remaining. At this point António – in his first race for Jaguar TCS Racing – looked in strong contention for a podium. However, António’s challenge was compromised after a safety car was deployed following a collision between Mortara and Di Grassi, negating his Attack Mode.
As the race restarted on lap 27, António was still in contention for a top‑six finish, and Mitch immediately took his remaining attack mode and started to move through from P13 towards a potential strong points finish.
However, Mitch’s race was ended with two laps to go after a racing incident which put him out, triggering a second safety car. As the field slowed, Pepe Marti ran into the back of Antonio at speed, bringing out the red flag with only two laps remaining. Thankfully Pepe was unhurt, and António was able to return to the pits from sixth position.
However, following FIA‑mandated repairs to the rear wing of his Jaguar I‑TYPE 7, when the restart came – with just one lap of full‑speed racing left – António had to start from 12th which is where he finished. He was later moved up a place to 11th following a five‑second penalty for Drugovich (Andretti).
First of all, I’m glad that Pepe is OK. Seeing him come over the top of my car I was worried for him, so I was relieved he was not hurt. He came and apologised after the race ‑ so there’s no issue.
“At the point of the second safety car my race had already been compromised ‑ I was in contention for a podium when the first safety car was called while in Attack Mode ‑ but the work we had to do to make the restart after the second safety car meant I finished out of the points.
“Looking at the positives ‑ we were strong in quali and the race on pace, and while there’s work to do, I’ll be ready to fight in Mexico!
ANTÓNIO FÉLIX DA COSTA
JAGUAR TCS RACING DRIVER #13
Today was tough. What started out as a clean and promising start to the race, with both myself and António running strongly for a while, was short‑lived after another driver collided into me, massively compromising my pace and effectively ending my race.
“It’s clearly not the start to the season I was hoping for, but it was good to get back out on track this weekend and we’ll push ahead to the next round in the New Year.
MITCH EVANS
JAGUAR TCS RACING DRIVER #9
Clearly, a disappointing result on a day where the Jaguar I‑TYPE 7 showed strong pace in the hands of both Mitch and António with the potential to score strongly.
“It’s often a chaotic race here, and that went against us today. Before the first safety car and with seven laps remaining, António was looking in contention for a podium, but that safety car negated his Attack Mode.
“Even after the restart, he was still looking good for a top six finish, but the contact from Marti as the second safety car was called meant work on the car under red flag conditions, restarting at the back, and a finish outside the points. Most importantly, though, everyone was ok.
“For Mitch it was also a difficult day as contact towards the mid‑point of the race left him with very poor balance. Even so, after the first safety car he still had an attack mode remaining so come the restart he was moving forward toward a likely strong points finish, before a further incident ended his race.
“We’ll now reset quickly, with our focus immediately switching to round two in Mexico in the New Year.
