Verstappen's longtime friend Felix Da Costa: 'Why Max is such a special person'

Antonio Felix da Costa is widely regarded as one of the fastest drivers in the world. In his illustrious career, the Portuguese driver (34) became world champion in Formula E, won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the LMP2 class, and captured a title in the World Endurance Championship. Yet the lightning-fast Felix da Costa never made it to Formula 1, although he came very close for years.

As a talent in the Red Bull Junior Team, he once took part in the Young Driver Test in Abu Dhabi, but a definitive move never materialized. Helmut Marko, then responsible for the Austrians’ driver development, ultimately did not choose the Portuguese, who harbors no resentment. Far from it, as he explains during an exclusive interview with GPblog.

To this day, Felix da Costa maintains good contact with Marko, who was always known for being tough on the drivers in the junior program. Not always easy for the drivers: "Red Bull can be the most difficult, but they also are the ones giving the most opportunities. If you look at the most rookies in the last 10 years, they probably came through the Red Bull rankings."

Red Bull usually has multiple talents in the Junior Team: "Of course, they have four cars on track, but they can't provide the seats for their drivers. And even though I didn't get the seat, I've said this before, but I'm very, very thankful to Red Bull and Helmut Marko because they turned me into a professional driver."

During his time at Red Bull, Felix da Costa got to know a very young Max Verstappen. The two quickly built a very close bond: "As Max grew up and he became the superstar that he is now, we kind of kept it going. Max is special in a good way. He is so impressive with what he has become and the person that he still is."

Felix da Costa has that down-to-earth quality too. Always friendly, respectful to others. When this is put to him, the Portuguese says: "Look, we're not saving lives. I'm not a doctor. I'm not curing cancer. What gives me the right to not be like that? That's just the only way I look at it. We're sometimes under the spotlight and we make some money and we are famous, but.. I just love my job. That's it. That's all I care about."

Every summer, Max Verstappen and Antonio Felix da Costa spend part of their vacation together. When the Dutchman travels to see his good friend, Kelly Piquet, Penelope, and Lily will certainly be there. Felix da Costa has also been friends with Kelly for a very long time: "I've known Kelly for years and I love Kelly, we're great friends, and Nelson [Piquet] as well. It just turned out that their relationship happened and it's even better. We do some holidays together every year, they love coming. So that's awesome."