Porsche’s fractious Formula E team-mate situation took another unhappy twist with a bizarre collision between Pascal Wehrlein and Antonio Felix da Costa in opening practice at Berlin Tempelhof on Friday.
A rear-end hit from Wehrlein at the final corner in the closing minutes of the session sent da Costa’s car into the wall on the pit straight, causing significant damage. Wehrlein continued unscathed, and was fastest in the session.
Da Costa had been told on team radio that Wehrlein was preparing for a flying lap, but Wehrlein then “stopped in the last corner” in da Costa’s eyes and he moved back in front, with Wehrlein then hitting him on the way onto the straight.
The incident that brought the end to FP1 😫@Hankook_Sport #BerlinEPrix pic.twitter.com/NzeIDmcVPY
— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) July 11, 2025
Porsche Formula E chief Florian Modlinger put it down to a “misunderstanding” but also called it “unacceptable”.
“I told them already that it's not acceptable to have contact in a free practice session between team-mates,” he told The Race. "Both were instructed of the programme of each other. It happened."
The Race understands that da Costa and Wehrlein have not spoken for the majority of the season after an unspecified incident on the drivers parade for the first round at Sao Paulo last December.
The pair almost came to blows on track at Shanghai in May and were both compromised in close calls when racing. Even some within the Porsche team have felt an incident such as the Berlin collision was inevitable.
Da Costa is known to be deeply unhappy at the team and trying to extricate himself from an option that Porsche has on his services for next season. A decision on if his option will be triggered or if he can fight against it is set to play out by the end of July.
Da Costa is believed to be high on the list of candidates to replace Nick Cassidy at Jaguar when he leaves for one of the Stellantis teams next season.
Asked by The Race if he expected continued tension in Wehrlein and da Costa’s relationship, Modlinger replied: “I do not expect that they are best friends. They do not need to share any room during a race weekend or go together to holiday.
“They are race drivers, they are professionals and they have to comply with the team rules, which they did, until now, very professionally and delivered what we asked them.
“But this contact is not acceptable.”
