Da Costa seals first Jaguar victory with commanding Jeddah E-prix win
António Félix da Costa delivered a statement victory at the 2026 Jeddah E-Prix, converting strategy and pace into his first win for Jaguar TCS Racing since joining the British squad at the start of the season.
In a tactical, energy-critical Round 5 of the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, the Portuguese driver executed both of his mandatory 350kW all-wheel-drive Attack Mode deployments earlier than his closest rivals, building a decisive margin he would not relinquish. He crossed the line 2.5 seconds clear of Sébastien Buemi, with reigning champion Oliver Rowland completing the podium.
The victory marks Jaguar’s sixth win in nine races and da Costa’s first since Portland in 2024, a timely breakthrough after showing consistent pace across the opening rounds without converting it into silverware.
From the outset, the race was defined by energy management and positioning. Several drivers cycled through the lead group, including Edoardo Mortara, who had secured back-to-back pole positions for Mahindra but ultimately finished fourth after fading in the closing stages.
Da Costa’s decisive move came through the second phase of Attack Mode activations. With extra power in hand and clean air ahead, he was able to stretch the gap sufficiently to neutralise any late response from Buemi and Rowland.
“This one feels good,” said da Costa. “Changing teams is a huge workload, new people, new systems, new processes. We’ve had strong pace but couldn’t capitalise earlier in the season, so to get this done by race five is special. When I had the gap and the Attack Mode advantage, I knew only something dramatic could take it away, but in racing it’s never over until it’s over. There were alarms flashing on the dash, and I kept asking if I needed to manage anything. They told me to acknowledge it and keep pushing!”
Buemi, who briefly led in a bid to avoid mid-pack contact, admitted Jaguar had the edge on efficiency. “If you’re fighting P3 or P4 it’s a jungle out there,” he said. “I tried to control things from the front, but António did a mega job on energy. He could push longer and that made the difference.”
Rowland, back on the podium after a difficult run, praised his team’s overnight changes. “We made big adjustments and it paid off,” he said. “From third backwards it’s dangerous, so I focused on staying out of trouble. António had a slight edge today, perhaps with a different Attack Mode strategy I could have been second, but P3 is a solid result.”
Further down the order, Dan Ticktum edged out team-mate Pepe Martí in a robust late-race scrap for fifth, while Jaguar’s Mitch Evans recovered to seventh. Round 4 winner Pascal Wehrlein could manage only eighth this time, ahead of Jean-Éric Vergne and Taylor Barnard.
Wehrlein now leads the drivers’ championship on 68 points, six clear of Mortara on 62, with Rowland third on 49. Porsche heads both the teams’ and manufacturers’ standings on 113 points, while Jaguar TCS Racing closes to 86 as momentum builds.
Round 5 also drew a high-profile crowd. Former Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez, now plying his trade in Saudi Arabia, attended alongside England striker Ivan Toney, while content creators from the EVO Sessions and Team QuickStars line-ups added to the atmosphere in the EMOTION Club hospitality suites.
The championship now heads to Spain for Round 6 at Circuito de Madrid Jarama on 21 March, where da Costa and Jaguar will look to convert their breakthrough win into sustained title momentum.
