Podcast Podcast, Season 3, Episode 10: Pascal Wehrlein & António Félix da Costa

There are moments when time stands still. Moments where you find yourself on the verge of greatness. Moments that stand the test of time. The Edge is a series of conversations where extraordinary people tell intimate stories of one moment that changed everything for them. A world record, a world championship, an epiphany, a life-changing decision. They relive their moments, minute by minute. How they overcame pressure, fear, pain and pushed themselves to the limit. To The Edge.

Our guests today are Pascal Wehrlein and António Félix da Costa, part of the The TAG Heuer Porsche Formula E Team. In this special episode, Pascal and Antonio talk to each other about their teamwork and dynamic, and look back at this season, the best one yet for the team. They tell us what it takes to win, what their biggest challenges were, and how they feel about the overall result. They open up about their feelings and thoughts during the competition, and express their hopes for the future.

Here are a few snippets to put you on the starting line and get the adrenaline pumping. But don’t forget to subscribe to our Podcast so you can listen to the full, unfiltered episode later. The Edge is a series of conversations with extraordinary people operating at the edge of possibility. It’s about the thin line between taking part and tipping into victory; it’s about what gives us our edge and what we can do to go beyond it.

I’m still in the adaptation phase, as it’s taken a little bit longer. New car, new tires, new team engineers, there was a lot to learn and not a lot of time. I joined quite late in the season, in October. And then we had a couple of test days and then we went to Valencia. And because it was a new car, most of the testing was related to reliability, so there wasn’t a lot of time to fully focus on driving. And that wasn’t great in the beginning. You [Pascal] were winning races, and I was hanging on for dear life. But it was okay because it’s a good wake up call.

Pascal: I think we make a very good team. First of all, we have a very good relationship. We come from a similar background from the past years. So we both met each other in Formula 3. You have experience in a Formula One car, I have experience in a Formula One car. You have a bit more experience in Formula E, but now I also have four years experience. 

António: I think we make a great team. We are two very different people, which is not a problem. I’m very social and I like to be liked and I hate to be hated. And I think you don’t care if you’re hated, which is fine. But we get on super well. I think you are very fair, you know, hard but fair, which is the way  to work together. I think we did really well and I think there’s still more better stuff to come.

Pascal: Expectations were pretty high after that. I mean. But then I would say we had an even  stronger middle part of the season. Just the last part of the season it went a bit out of our hands. 

António: If I have to look back where we probably lost some valuable points, I would say for sure Monaco.

Pascal: It was not a bad season. We had four wins, and the seasons before we only had one per season. So it was a big step forward. But also the expectations and the targets just raised a lot higher. So I’m not 100% happy. I think we cannot be and we should not be [happy] because we want to win. But I also see the positives and I don’t want to forget them. I don’t want to forget that both of us had a couple of podiums. 

António: We had a small taste of what could have been and we’ve awakened a new monster in everyone. We’re not here to participate. We’re here to win. And we’ve now shown that we can.