Formula E News: Da Costa wins Jeddah E-Prix round 5

António Félix da Costa delivered a masterclass in energy management and race craft to secure his first victory for Jaguar TCS Racing in the 2026 Jeddah E-Prix Round 5, holding off a determined Sébastien Buemi by 2.5 seconds at the checkered flag on the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

–by Mark Cipolloni–

Reigning champion Oliver Rowland completed the podium in third, as the energy-critical night race produced multiple lead changes and tactical battles across the 30-lap distance.

Da Costa, starting from third on the grid behind back-to-back polesitter Edoardo Mortara (Mahindra Racing) and the rest of the front-runners, played the long game in the opening stages. He was the first of the lead group to activate both mandatory 50kW ATTACK MODE boosts, timing the second activation perfectly to build a decisive gap through the field.

That margin proved unassailable, even as the chasing pack shuffled positions in the closing laps. The win marks Jaguar TCS Racing’s sixth victory in the last nine races and da Costa’s first since Portland in 2024 – a timely boost for the Portuguese driver and his new squad after a solid but winless start to the campaign.

The race was a classic Formula E energy thriller under the lights, with the lead swapping hands several times as drivers juggled ATTACK MODE, Pit Boost (where applicable in this double-header) and conservation. Buemi, who had qualified seventh, surged forward and briefly led, using a clever ATTACK MODE overlap to snatch second from Rowland in the final stages. The Swiss veteran admitted he pushed to the front early to avoid the “jungle” of midfield scraps, ultimately settling for a strong runner-up after da Costa’s superior pace in the latter half.

Rowland, who led early on for Nissan, recovered from a mid-race shuffle to claim third – his third podium of the season – after a late ATTACK MODE activation. Mahindra’s Edoardo Mortara, despite another pole and leading at points, faded to fourth but still banked crucial points in a weekend where the Indian squad showed strong one-lap pace.

Further back, drama unfolded in the battle for fifth. Dan Ticktum (Cupra Kiro) used aggressive defending on the final lap to pip teammate Pepe Martí, who had been closing rapidly.

Jaguar’s Mitch Evans charged from outside the top 10 to seventh, while yesterday’s winner Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche) recovered from a difficult qualifying to eighth. Citroën’s Jean-Éric Vergne and DS Penske’s Taylor Barnard rounded out the top 10.

Full Race Results: 2026 Jeddah E-Prix Round 5

Gaps approximate based on official timing; no retirements reported in a clean but fiercely competitive race.

Championship Standings After Round 5

Drivers’ Championship
– 1. Pascal Wehrlein (Porsche) – 68 pts
– 2. Edoardo Mortara (Mahindra) – 62 pts
– 3. Oliver Rowland (Nissan) – 49 pts
– 4. Nick Cassidy (Citroën) – 48 pts (pre-race)
– 5. Mitch Evans (Jaguar) – 47 pts

Teams’ Championship
– 1. Porsche Formula E Team – 113 pts
– 2. Jaguar TCS Racing – 86 pts

Manufacturers’ World Championship
– Porsche leads with 143 pts over Jaguar’s 124 pts (approximate post-race).

Driver Quotes

António Félix da Costa, No. 13, Jaguar TCS Racing
“This one feels good! Changing teams is a massive workload and there’s a lot of things to learn and new faces and names. I’m happy to get this done by race five – we’ve been having good pace but we haven’t been able to capitalise on it so I’m happy to give this one back to Jaguar TCS Racing. I knew when I had a little bit of a gap and ATTACK MODE over my rivals that only a big drama could really take this away from us. But you know in racing, it’s never over until it’s over – I had all these alarms flashing on my dash and I kept asking: ‘Do I need to manage something?’; ‘Do I need to go slower?’. They told me to acknowledge the alarms and crack on! It was a little bit stressful but it’s a great feeling when you know it’s only up to you to bring this one home, and I’m very happy to do it.”

Sébastien Buemi, No. 15, Envision Racing
“I decided to lead the race just to avoid the carnage a little bit, avoid a puncture or damaging the wing. If you fight for P3 or P4 it’s a jungle out there! If you want to just survive you want to make sure you’re at the front. You do save a bit less energy and I think DAC did a mega job saving more. He was able to go flat out a bit longer than me and that’s why he made that gap. At the end it’s P2 and DAC did a better job. We take those points – yesterday we qualified last, so obviously to be on the podium today is not bad.”

Oliver Rowland, No. 23, Nissan Formula E Team
“Yesterday I was pulling my hair out! The last two races I struggled quite a lot, I just had no pace. Last night we changed quite a lot of stuff, so I’m really pleased to be back on the podium. Thanks to my whole team as they stayed late last night and they did a great job. I just wanted to stay out of trouble – from third or fourth backwards it’s quite dangerous with people coming on the outside, and honestly I could go so slow at some points that I could control the pace and be quite comfortable in my target. Of course António got a slight advantage and I wouldn’t have beaten him today – I think with a slightly different strategy on my side with the ATTACK MODE I could have finished second, but anyway I’m still happy with third.”

Formula E now heads to Madrid for Round 6 in March, with the championship battle tightening at the top. Da Costa’s win has injected fresh momentum into Jaguar’s title challenge.