Brazilian racing driver (born 1991)
Nicolas Leite Rebelo Costa (born 14 November 1991) is a Brazilian racing driver who most recently competed in the FIA World Endurance Championship for United Autosports. He was champion of the Porsche Carrera Cup Brasil in 2023.
Career
Early career
Costa began his motorsport career in karting in 2002 at the age of ten, racing in various championships in Brazil. He would go on to rack up fifteen championships over the course of seven years, and finish runner-up to Leonardo Cordeiro in the national Petrobras Karting Championship in 2008.[1] After receiving a scholarship from the Skip Barber Racing School in the United States, he made his formula racing debut in 2009, making a one-off appearance in the MSA Formula Ford Championship in the United Kingdom. He would contest his first full season of car racing the following year in Felipe Massa's new Formula Future Fiat series; his subsequent championship victory earned him admission into the Ferrari Driver Academy, making him the first South American to become an academy member.[2]
After gaining the support of Ferrari, Costa moved to the European single-seater ladder for 2011, competing in the European and Italian Formula Abarth series for Cram Competition. He would go on to finish ninth and fifth respectively in the two championships and was ultimately dropped from Ferrari's roster at the end of the year. However, he would remain in Formula Abarth for the 2012 season, moving to Vincenzo Sospiri's Euronova Racing team, operated by Fortec Motorsport. His second-year campaign would prove far more successful, as he went on to win both the European and Italian championship titles over Luca Ghiotto.[3] Costa also participated in the GP3 Series' annual post-season test twice, driving for Carlin in 2011 and Marussia Manor Racing in 2012, but ultimately did not secure a race seat.[4][5]
Costa moved to the United States' Road to Indy in 2013, competing on a part-time basis in the Pro Mazda Championship; after claiming four podiums in a part-time campaign with Team Pelfrey, he joined Dallas-based M1 Racing for the following season on a round-by-round basis.[6] After initial struggles in the first three rounds, a return to Team Pelfrey for the remainder of the season yielded better results, with a pair of pole positions and a race win at Mid-Ohio, plus three other second-place finishes, being enough for Costa to end the season fifth in the standings.
Costa made his surprise debut in the F4 Japanese Championship in 2015, rejoining Vincenzo Sospiri Racing (VSR)'s Zap Speed-operated team alongside Takuro Shinohara as a junior driver for Lamborghini Squadra Corse.[7] Despite a promising fourth-place finish in the season's opening round at Okayama, Costa failed to score points for the remainder of his campaign and was replaced by fellow Brazilian Gustavo Myasava before the fifth round at Sugo. However, he would retain his connections to the team, taking part in a test in a Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo alongside Shinohara at Adria International Raceway in October 2015.[8]
Sports car racing career
Between 2016 and 2018, Costa raced for Vincenzo Sospiri Racing and Lamborghini in various GT series, partnering fellow VSR protégés Yūki Nemoto and Ling Kang for campaigns in the Italian GT Championship, Lamborghini Super Trofeo series, and the International GT Open championship. He would claim the GTCup class championship in Italian GT in 2016, and claim a second-place finish in a one-off appearance in the 2017 Blancpain GT Series Asia at Suzuka, driving alongside Sandy Stuvik.[9][10] Costa returned to Japan to contest the Super Taikyū endurance racing series in 2019, driving a B-Max-operated Nissan GT-R GT3 for Tairoku Racing, and would finish on the podium at the Fuji 24 Hours with team owners Tairoku Yamaguchi and Shinichi Takagi, Satoshi Motoyama, and Harrison Newey before the team's withdrawal from the championship.[11] He spent 2020 as a driver coach in Super Taikyū.[1]
Costa returned to his native Brazil in 2021, spending the next three seasons competing in Porsche 911-based one-make championships. After competing part-time in the Porsche Endurance Challenge Brasil for two seasons, Costa moved to the Porsche Carrera Cup Brasil for 2023. After winning the season's first round at Interlagos from pole position, becoming the series' first debut race winner since 2018,[12] Costa went on to win another six races and claim the championship title by twenty-eight points over four-time series champion Miguel Paludo.[13]
FIA World Endurance Championship
In February 2024, Costa was announced to be returning to the international stage, piloting a McLaren 720S GT3 Evo for United Autosports in the FIA World Endurance Championship alongside Grégoire Saucy and James Cottingham.[14]
Racing record
Career summary
† As Costa was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
‡ Team standings.
* Season still in progress.
Complete Stock Car Brasil results
† As Costa was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
Complete Porsche Carrera Cup Brasil results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
* Season still in progress.
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
American open-wheel racing results
Pro Mazda Championship
† As Costa was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.
References
External links
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