Formula E's long-awaited Madrid debut delivered everything the all-electric series could have hoped for on its first visit to the CUPRA Raval circuit, and at the heart of it was a masterclass in race management from Antonio Felix da Costa.
The Portuguese driver delivered a disciplined Jaguar TCS Racing one-two ahead of teammate Mitch Evans, with Pascal Wehrlein salvaging third for Porsche after a chaotic afternoon in the Spanish capital. King Felipe VI was among a packed home crowd watching Spain's first Formula E race on home soil.
Da Costa crossed the line just 0.386 seconds clear of Evans after 23 laps, with Wehrlein a further 0.413 seconds back in third. All 20 cars completed the race — a rarity in Formula E — and the margins between winners and losers came down to a single variable: when, and how, drivers triggered the series' PIT BOOST energy top-up.
The Jaguar driver pulled the trigger mid-race, midway through the 23-lap contest, and the timing proved decisive. Every car behind him either boosted too early or too late, leaving da Costa with the window he needed to cover Evans on the run to the flag.
Jaguar's one-two masked a brutal afternoon for pole sitter Nick Cassidy, who had produced a historic qualifying lap to put the car on top of the timesheets in a record-breaking session. The New Zealander's race unravelled almost immediately under the pressure of managing his state of charge, and he sank from the front of the grid to 17th by the chequered flag. In a series where energy management is the cardinal skill, the contrast between Cassidy's qualifying peak and his Sunday trough was jarring.
The opening laps also produced the weekend's flashpoint. On lap three, Nyck de Vries clipped Wehrlein at the hairpin, sending the Porsche driver scrambling before he had even had a chance to attack the leaders. Stewards handed de Vries a five-second penalty — a ruling that ultimately did not cost him a podium but tainted the bigger picture of a Porsche weekend Wehrlein will be relieved to walk away from in third.
Evans, meanwhile, continued to underline why he is the most experienced winner on the current grid. After sitting in behind Dan Ticktum for much of the middle stint, the Kiwi picked the right moment to attack for second before throwing himself at the back of his teammate on the final lap. Da Costa had to work to keep his Jaguar stablemate at arm's length through the closing sector.
"We pushed each other hard, but it's a Jaguar one-two on a huge day for the team," Evans said after the race, acknowledging he ran out of real estate to take the win.
Home interest was also high. Spanish driver Pepe Martí brought his car home in ninth on his Madrid debut, cheered on by the royal box and a crowd hungry for a local hero to celebrate. For a race debut that had taken months of preparation from organisers and the Automobile Club de Monaco's Spanish counterparts, the final result was a polished, dramatic piece of theatre — and a reminder that Formula E's hallmark is no longer just efficiency but razor-thin strategic chess.
Championship leader Pascal Wehrlein leaves Madrid with his advantage trimmed, with Jaguar drawing closer in the teams' standings after converting a weekend that had started with a qualifying setback. Season 12 heads next to Monaco, and on the evidence of Madrid, the title fight has plenty of new contenders willing to step into it.
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*Originally published on [Motorsports Global](https://motorsports.global/article/da-costa-masters-pit-boost-jaguar-madrid-eprix-2026). Visit for full coverage.*
