Antonio Felix da Costa Hired as Red Bull Reserve Driver and BMW DTM Driver

Portuguese driver António Félix da Costa has had a very good day for his racing career with the simultaneous announcements that he will be a reserve driver for Red Bull Racing in Formula One and a driver for the BMWBMWGermany, 1918 > present87 models
8471 photos
43 videos
DTM team next season. BMW also announced Belgian driver Maxime Martin has a new driver in its DTM program. They will replace Andy Priaulx and Dirk Werner on the team.

Da Costa is a star among young, open wheel drivers. He was third place in the GP3 series in 2012 and third in the Renault 3.5 series in 2013.

“António Félix da Costa really convinced us what a talented driver he is during his tests in the BMW M3 DTMBMW M3 DTMGermany, 2012 > present4 photos
1 video
, and through his previous success in single-seater racing. I am looking forward to following his development in the DTM.”

Da Costa and Sebastien Buemi have also been nominated as Red Bull’s test and reserve drivers respectively for 2014. With the more lenient car testing rules for next year, both men will have major roles with the team.

Martin has proven himself to be one of the great upcoming touring car and sports car drivers in the world. He put in a fantastic drive at the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring in a BMW Z4 GT3 to finish second overall, and he finished third in the Blancpain Endurance Series in 2013.

“After his impressive year as test and development driver, Maxime Martin is now ready to prove himself in the DTM. He showed in the DTM tests and his successful outings in the BMW Z4 GT3BMW Z4 GT3Germany, 2010 > present7 photos
that he will be a valuable addition to our driver line-up,” said BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt.

BMW will switch to the new M4BMW M4 ConceptGermany, 2013 > present DTM in the DTM next year. The rest of BMW’s DTM driver lineup for 2014 will be

Priaulx will race for BMW in the new United SportsCar Championship (USCC) in the United States. Werner will become BMW’s main endurance driver, including be the main driver of the Z4 GT3 in the Nürburgring 24 Hours.

Source: Autosport