Buenos Aires winner Antonio Felix Da Costa, believes that young drivers would gain valuable experience by taking a seat in Formula E. The Red Bull junior driver feels that the energy recovery systems that drivers have to manage in Formula E, would help a young driver in their development towards Formula One.

Speaking exclusively to Formula E Zone, the Portuguese driver sees Formula E as a way of separating an average driver from an intelligent driver.

“A young driver would definitely learn from driving in Formula E . At the moment, Formula One has a lot of energy recovery systems and fuel saving also plays a big part in the sport. However, in Formula E it is harder to manage all these systems, compared to managing them in Formula One. The driving style you need in Formula E is similar to the style you need in Formula One, in order to manage these systems. In Formula E you are constantly worrying about the management of the energy usage compared to Formula One. This is because you need to drive fast and save energy while you are doing it, and therefore you need to be a very smart driver.”

The 23 year old driver also states that the high diversity of experience on the Formula E grid will help a young driver improve their race craft.

“It is good for a young driver to race against guys like Bruno Senna, Jarno Trulli and Nick Heidfeld. These drivers even though they have been in Formula One, it does not give them any time over you in the race. This series will show the world that if you are quick you are quick.”

Another point that the former Renualt 3.5 Series driver also considers an advantage for young drivers driving in Formula E, is that it shows the world that you can compete against drivers with a well respected reputation across the motorsport world. Da Costa believes that if you can show that you can beat drivers that have had long spells of being successful in their particular motorsport field, it will allow teams in those sports to pay closer attention to you.

“It is important for a young driver to drive against drivers of this caliber, as it shows the world exactly what you are capable of doing in a racing car.”

Another advantage that Antonio alluded to, is the level of wheel to wheel racing in this category. Junior formulas are known for the exciting racing produced by the stars of tomorrow. This is because of the wild overtaking maneuvers some drivers could pull, which can lead to great racing.

However, Antonio feels that the higher experience levels of drivers in Formula E will help younger drivers fine tune their overtaking skills, as they will be able to learn from drivers who have been in the pinnacle of motorsport for many years.

“The great thing about racing in Formula E, is that drivers have a lot of respect for each other out on track.Therefore, younger drivers will benefit greatly from driving against these drivers for their future development. So far, Formula E has provided good racing out there and that is exactly what a young driver needs in order to continue their development plan into Formula One.”