Antonio Felix da Costa: Aguri Formula E errors 'way too painful'

The Portuguese qualified fastest in Long Beach last weekend but was forced to start from last because one of his rear tyres was 0.05 bar below the minimum pressure mandated by supplier Michelin.

He was still on course to score points after a strong drive through the field, but suffered a wishbone failure in the closing stages.

Aguri's trackside team and senior structure has undergone several changes since last summer, and da Costa's starring performances with its season-one powertrain have often come to nothing.

He was robbed of victory shots in Putrajaya and Buenos Aires due to technical problems, and endured more reliability issues at Mexico City before picking up a 10-second penalty for the team working on the car on the grid too close to the race start.

"I went through a big peak of anger [after Long Beach qualifying]," he told Autosport.

"Finally I had the chance to compete for a race clean and it got taken away.

"The team is going through a big transition. We're a new team really and I think only this weekend we got the people that will be with the team next year.

"At the moment all these people coming in and out, mistakes happen.

"I don't believe in bad luck; the tyre pressure was down because we pushed it to the limit.

"I can appreciate all the hard work, that we win together and lose together, but it's very painful.

"In a way we've achieved what we wanted which is to be competitive and annoy the big teams. But we've not managed to avoid the mistakes."

Da Costa will be one of the most sought-after drivers for 2016/17 but his factory links to BMW, for which he drives in the DTM, could prevent him driving for another manufacturer outright.

He would be an obvious choice should the German marque go through with its plans to join the series, or even strike a partnership with an existing team.

Team Aguri is poised to confirm a Renault powertrain deal for season three, a move that is crucial to its chances of retaining da Costa for a third campaign.

"What we think Aguri is going to have is a very good indication," he said.

"We can be very close to the mother team already so if we have the same package we can really challenge them.

"All I want at this point in my career is to win races.

"It's been way too painful. I know I can fight these guys hard but at the moment we're playing catch up and I don't like that feeling.

"I want to come to a weekend knowing I can win a race and maybe be champion.

"If I have the chance and don't do it I know I'm not good enough - but I want that chance."