Nothing seems to stop Costa
Albert Costa (Epsilon Euskadi) led from start to finish this first race of the weekend at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, giving him his second win of the season to celebrate on the day of his 19th birthday. The Spaniard finishes ahead of Antonio Felix da Costa (Motopark Academy) and Jean-Éric Vergne (SG Formula). With three podium finishes in three races, Antonio Felix da Costa remains the overall leader of the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 just two points ahead of Albert Costa.
Pole-sitter Albert Costa got off to the perfect start and led at the top of the Eau Rouge / Raidillon combination ahead of Kevin Magnussen (Motopark Academy) and Antonio Felix da Costa. Costa was a little uncomfortable into Les Combes, but held off attacks from Kevin Magnussen and Antonio Felix da Costa. Behind the front pair, Jean-Éric Vergne won his duel with Adrian Quaife-Hobbs (Motopark Academy) to move into 4th position.
In lap 2, Antonio Felix da Costa overtook team-mate Kevin Magnussen, then pushed hard to come back at the leader Albert Costa. Kevin Magnussen couldn’t hold off come-backs from Jean-Éric Vergne and Adrian Quaife-Hobbs. The Frenchman and the British driver both got the better of the Dane. Jean-Éric Vergne moved back into third place, but had to fight off Adrian Quaife-Hobbs who stayed on his tail.
Albert Costa bettered his lead with each lap. After five laps, the Spaniard was three seconds in front of Antonio Felix da Costa. Further back in the field, Nigel Melker (MP Motorsport) was turning heads as he ploughed through the pack. From 13th position on the grid, the Dutchman moved up past Nathanaël Berthon (Epsilon Euskadi) into sixth spot.
This put Nigel Melker at the front of the chasing pack, with Nathanël Berthon on his tail, followed by Carlos Munoz (Epsilon Euskadi), Arthur Pic (SG Formula) and Marco Sorensen (Motopark Academy). Sorensen overtook Arthur Pic to move into 9th position on the leaderboard.
Albert Costa raced inexorably towards his second victory of the season, determined to celebrate his 19th in the best of fashions. Meanwhile Antonio Felix da Costa spent the closing stages countering threatening returns by Jean-Éric Vergne and Adrian Quaife-Hobbs. The foursome were to cross the chequered flag in that order, so the race ended with Albert Costa driving to victory for the second time this season, while Antonio Felix da Costa proved his regularity with a third podium in three races. Behind the leading quartet, Kevin Magnussen scored his first points of the season with his fifth place finish, ahead of Nigel Melker, who held onto sixth despite being under constant pressure from Nathanël Berthon.
Quote, unquote: Albert Costa: “The first lap was far from straightforward. The Motopark Academy drivers were right behind. One of them took my line and attacked at the end of the straight. The first turn was a handfull. I messed up slightly with my gearbox, but I still managed to stay in the lead. From then on, the car was perfect. I created the gap and drove to a clear win. That’s just what I wanted for my birthday!”
Antonio Felix da Costa: “I knew we had a good car for the race. The first corner got a little hairy. I managed to get the better of Kevin Magnussen after that, but I couldn’t catch Albert. He was just too quick today. We’re going to have to improve tomorrow to put him under pressure.”
Jean-Éric Vergne: "It's good to be back on the podium. The car was good in the first laps, but I was getting a lot of over-steer at the end. Adrian Quaife-Hobbs was coming back at me but I held out. After my poor weekend at Barcelona, it was important for me to finish on the podium. I need to carry on like that.”
