António Félix da Costa has demanded that the FIA take action and improve its monitoring of driver behaviour during races, following his controversial late collision with Dan Ticktum in Monaco.
Formula E’s opening race of its Monaco double-header ended dramatically after a major clash between da Costa and Ticktum while battling for third place.
The duo came together on entry to the Nouvelle Chicane as da Costa attempted an overtake on the inside, before heavy contact with the wall ripped off his rear-right tyre.
The incident forced da Costa out of the race immediately and significantly damaged his title hopes, while Ticktum nursed his damaged car home in third place.
However, immediately after the race, Ticktum was handed a drive-through penalty for moving under braking and causing a collision, which was converted into a 33-second time penalty and demoted him to 12th after starting from pole position.
Ticktum was not present in the post-race media pen, while da Costa discussed the incident with ApexF1News, saying: “I think it’s pretty clear what happened. For four laps, he was driving the car completely against the rules, moving under braking a lot — three or four times a lap.
“I can’t control what he does. It’s dirty, it’s bad, but I’m a little disappointed that he didn’t get a warning because we were complaining about it. I think if he gets a warning, maybe he calms down or understands that he can’t do it anymore.
“That’s what happens when you have a guy who’s not under control and you don’t put him under control. I kick myself because, yeah, I can sit there and take P4 and the points, but it’s also not in my DNA when I know a podium is completely on the line, he’s two per cent down, and going very, very slowly.
“I wanted to go for it, and I had every right to go for those gaps already. One or two laps before the crash, he did something super dangerous in the chicane as well, but I don’t have much to say. I was just a victim of some really bad driving.”
Da Costa calls for more warnings
While da Costa was left devastated by the incident, he effectively defended Ticktum, insisting he should have been issued a warning by the FIA much sooner for moving under braking.
In the Jaguar driver’s view, warnings should be issued more frequently rather than the FIA’s first action being a sporting punishment, such as a time penalty.
According to da Costa, a driver should first be handed a warning as an opportunity to adjust their driving, before receiving a punishment if no change is made.
“That’s exactly my point,” added da Costa. “They need to be much quicker at identifying these things. I don’t want him to get a penalty for moving under braking, I just want him to be told, ‘Look, man, you can’t do that anymore.’ Just a warning.
“And then, yeah, let’s keep racing and defend against me. I mean, we’re racing — defend against me as hard as you can, but do it legally, and he wasn’t doing that.”
