da Costa steps in for Carlin in Hungary
29 July 2010Portuguese racer António Félix da Costa will race with Carlin in this weekend's GP3 round in Hungary. The 18 year-old racer, who finished third in last year's Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup and this season competes in F3 Euro Series, will join Carlin for this one off event. Replacing Lucas Foresti - who this weekend races in British F3 at Spa - da Costa will line up alongside Carlin's regular GP3 drivers Josef Newgarden and Dean Smith.
18 year-old da Costa proved himself one to watch in 2009 in only his second year of formula racing. The Portuguese youngster finished third in Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup having taken nine podiums including three race wins, and won the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Championship having taken an impressive nine race victories.
Making his GP3 debut this weekend, da Costa will face a steep learning curve and will have only 30 minutes practice to help him get to grips with the Carlin GP3 car before qualifying on Saturday morning.
The Carlin GP3 team will be hoping for some good luck in Hungary this weekend, as the team have struggled to translate promising pace into podium finishes. Last time out at Hockenheim, Newgarden endured a disappointing race from pole position, as a problem with his turbo saw the young American lose places on the straights. To add insult to injury Newgarden suffered contact from behind on the final lap while lying eighth, which then put him out of the race. Team mate Smith also suffered a difficult weekend; a first lap accident put him out of the contention and into the pits in race two, but a spirited fight back through the field saw McLaren Autosport BRDC winner finished 12th at the chequered flag.
Speaking about the weekend ahead, da Costa said, "Everything is new for me this weekend, the car is new, the team is new so there is a lot to learn. I do have experience of the circuit however; I raced here in Formula Renault last year and was quick so I don't think the track will be a problem.
"We don't have much time at all before qualifying, so we need to make sure we use the time well and hope we have no problems. Then, in the last 10 minutes we will work hard towards a good set-up for qualifying. But the car looks good and we know the team is good, so I'm looking forward to my first experience of GP3."