António Félix da Costa commented on how grateful he is for the entire period he spent as a Red Bull Academy driver, even without ever having raced in Formula 1.
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The Portuguese driver spent many years being supported by the Austrian team – he joined the team in 2012 and at the end of that year he even participated in the Young Drivers Test in Abu Dhabi, driving two of the three days of activities.
And although he never had the opportunity to be a full-time driver in F1, only as a reserve driver, the 2019/20 Formula E champion highlighted how much he owes his career to the Austrian team.
“Red Bull may be the most demanding, but it is also the one that offers the most opportunities. If you look at most rookies from the last 10 years, they probably went through the Red Bull ranks. Of course, they have four cars on the track, but they can’t offer seats to all their drivers,” he said.
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“And, although I didn’t get the seat, I’ve said this before, but I am very, very grateful to Red Bull and Helmut Marko, they made me a professional driver. I think I was the only driver in their group that they kept even without promoting to Formula 1. Because usually, either you go to F1 or you’re not good enough. But they kept me,” he continued.
“I stayed there for another four years as a reserve driver. And, at the same time, they turned me into a professional racing driver in DTM with BMW. In other words, they gave me a career; therefore, I have no regrets,” he concluded.
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