Antonio Felix da Costa: “F1 goal”

Antonio, it is too early to make an initial assessment of the season, but the least we can say is that it is starting well for you?
“Even if I am first in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, Barcelona was a fairly complicated meeting. Albert Costa was very fast. Faster than everyone! If he has the same pace on all circuits, he will be difficult to beat. But it was in Barcelona, ​​at home, on a circuit that he knows perfectly and where Epsilon Euskadi trains regularly. We knew that victory was going to be difficult to achieve there, in this case we have to know how to take points. At Spa-Francorchamps I believe the situation will be different. It?s a circuit that I really like, that Motopark Academy knows well. I would like to win my first Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 race at Spa. »

This is your second season in car and your second season in Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0. In which area do you feel the greatest change between this year and last year?
“Experience is very important. Last year I discovered everything. To win in Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 it is not enough to go fast. It is a very close championship, with often around twenty drivers in the same second. So you have to put everything in the right order. For my part, the biggest development concerns the use of new tires. This is where the gaps widen and this is where experience plays a huge role. »

Is it a plus to have stayed at Motopark Academy this year?
“Unquestionably yes!” Timo Rumpfkeil, the boss of the team, first came into contact with me when I was in Karting. He quickly trusted me and I learned a lot with him and with Motopark Academy last season. To thank them, I would like to do just as well as Valtteri Bottas, since it?s not possible to do better? Then it works well between the Portuguese and Motopark Academy since in 2006, Felipe Albuquerque won the Eurocup and the NEC with this team. There is a big wait in my country for me to do the same. »

How do you imagine your future?
“We must already manage this season well before talking about the future? But my goal is to go F1. I think about it every day. Go to F1 but not just to make up the numbers, I want to go to F1 to last and to win. All of Portugal hopes to quickly see a driver defend the colors of this country in F1. Today, big hopes are placed in Alvaro Parente and Felipe Albuquerque. I am younger than them, I still have a lot to learn, but the Portuguese press is starting to add me to the list. But above all, we must win this season, then make the right choices. »

Who are your most dangerous opponents this season?
“There are many: Jean-Éric Vergne, my teammate Adrian Quaife-Hobbs? But for years I have been crossing swords with Albert Costa. We were already adversaries in Karting, we are still adversaries today and I hope we will continue to be adversaries for a long time. We know each other well and we get along well. We are all growing together, in general there is a very good atmosphere between the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 drivers. But when we are in the car, when we lower our visors, there is no longer any friendship that lasts. We all want to go faster than the other and win! »