Albert Costa (racing driver)

Albert Costa
Albert Costa
	Orange1 FFF Racing Team
Starts	76 (76 entries)
Championships	0
Wins	2
Podiums	29
Poles	3
Best finish	9th in 2018
Finished last season	15th (32 pts)
24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	2023–
Teams	Inter Europol Competition
Best finish	1st in 2023 (LMP2)
Class wins	1

Albert Costa Balboa[1] (born 2 May 1990 in Barcelona) is a Spanish racing driver who currently competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Conquest Racing and in the European Le Mans Series for Nielsen Racing. He was the 2009 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 champion, and has competed in sports car racing since 2012.

Career

Karting

Costa started his international karting career in 2004, in the Copa Campeones Trophy for

Italian Open Masters. He held off the challenges of Charles Pic and Marcus Ericsson

to win the title by nine points. He continued in karting in 2006, but moved into the ICA class full-time. He competed in five different championships over the course of the season, but only finished in the top fifteen in the Asian-Pacific Championship.

Formula Three

Costa made the substantial leap from karting to Formula Three, missing out many conventional lower single-seater formulae.^[2] He drove for Räikkönen Robertson Racing in the first five rounds of the series, before funds dried up. His best result came during the series' first visit to the Bucharest Ring in Romania, when he finished fourth in class, just over a second behind Hamad Al Fardan who finished third.^[3]

Formula Renault

After his Formula Three career was cut short by lack of funds, Costa dropped down to

Estoril. He placed three spots higher in the WEC, finishing fifth overall and runner-up in the rookie standings behind Jean-Éric Vergne

.

Costa continued with Epsilon into 2009, again competing in the Eurocup and West European Cup. He won the Eurocup, holding off the challenges of both Vergne and

Autódromo Internacional do Algarve

. Costa won thirteen of the 28 races he competed in, winning five in the Eurocup and eight in the WEC.

Formula Renault 3.5 Series

After being awarded

2010 with Epsilon Euskadi.^[4]

Eurocup Megane Trophy

Costa will remain part of the World Series by Renault in 2012 as he switches to

Eurocup Megane Trophy with defending champions Oregon. The Spaniard had hoped to remain on the single-seater ladder but a budget shortfall necessitated his switch to tin-tops.^[5]

Costa won the title at his first attempt, scoring seven race victories along the way.

Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe AWS Sprint Cup

Costa makes his debut in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup cup after 6 years in the Endurance Cup with Emil Frey Racing.

Costa will continue with the team in 2023 in the sprint cup racing in the Pro driver category however with a new car, The Ferrari 296 after the team ended their contract with the Lamborghini in 2022.

Costa currently has consistaetly finished in the top 10 in the first half of the 2023 Season but is still to stand on the podium in the sprint cup.

Racing record

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2007	British Formula 3 International Series - National	Räikkönen Robertson Racing	9	0	0	0	0	33	11th
2008	Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup	Epsilon Euskadi	14	0	0	1	0	35	8th
2008	Formula Renault 2.0 WEC	Epsilon Euskadi	15	0	1	0	4	85	5th
2009	Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup	Epsilon Euskadi	14	5	6	6	10	138	1st
2009	Formula Renault 2.0 WEC	Epsilon Euskadi	14	8	8	10	9	172	1st
2010	Formula Renault 3.5 Series	Epsilon Euskadi	17	0	0	0	3	78	5th
2011	Formula Renault 3.5 Series	EPIC Racing	17	1	1	1	4	151	4th
2012	Eurocup Mégane Trophy	Oregon Team	14	7	8	6	10	251	1st
2016	Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup	Emil Frey Racing	4	0	0	0	0	0	NC
2017	ADAC GT Masters	Callaway Competition	2	0	0	0	0	14	32nd
	Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup	Emil Frey Jaguar Racing	4	0	0	0	0	1	28th
	Intercontinental GT Challenge	Emil Frey Jaguar Racing	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup	Emil Frey Lexus Racing	2	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	International GT Open	Emil Frey Lexus Racing	14	4	4	5	7	98	3rd
2018	Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup	Emil Frey Lexus Racing	5	1	0	0	1	35	9th
2018	Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup	Emil Frey Lexus Racing	10	0	0	2	0	15.5	13th
2019	Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup	Orange 1 FFF Racing Team	1	1	0	0	1	25	10th
2019	International GT Open	Emil Frey Racing	14	4	5	1	7	128	1st
2020	ADAC GT Masters	GRT Grasser Racing Team	14	0	0	2	1	102	8th
	WeatherTech SportsCar Championship - GTD	GRT Grasser Racing Team	1	0	0	0	0	17	55th
	GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup	Emil Frey Racing	4	0	0	0	0	8	19th
	GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup		10	2	1	1	2	60.5	5th
	Intercontinental GT Challenge		1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
2021	ADAC GT Masters	GRT Grasser Racing Team	10	0	1	0	3	103	9th
	WeatherTech SportsCar Championship - GTD	GRT Grasser Racing Team	2	0	0	0	0	133	76th
	GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup	Emil Frey Racing	5	0	0	0	0	16	17th
	GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup		10	1	0	1	3	43.5	6th
	Intercontinental GT Challenge		1	0	0	0	0	0	NC
2022	ADAC GT Masters	Emil Frey Racing	14	1	1	2	3	140	4th
	GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup		5	0	0	1	1	32	15th
	Intercontinental GT Challenge
	GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup	Imperiale Racing	2	0	0	0	0	3	22nd
	Stock Car Brasil	Blau Motorsport	1	0	1	1	1	0	NC†
2023	FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2	Inter Europol Competition	7	1	0	0	3	114	2nd
	24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2	Inter Europol Competition	1	1	0	0	1	N/A	1st
	GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup	Emil Frey Racing	10	0	0	1	3	62.5	4th
	Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters	Emil Frey Racing	2	0	0	0	0	8	28th
	International GT Open	Team Motopark	2	0	0	0	0	0	NC†
2024	European Le Mans Series - LMP2	Nielsen Racing
2024	IMSA SportsCar Championship - GTD	Conquest Racing

^* Season still in progress.

Complete Formula Renault 3.5 Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	Pos.	Pts
2010	Epsilon Euskadi	ALC 1 Ret	ALC 2 4	SPA 1 4	SPA 2 19	MON 1 3	BRN 1 18	BRN 2 10	MAG 1 8	MAG 2 5	HUN 1 6	HUN 2 2	HOC 1 8	HOC 2 17	SIL 1 2	SIL 2 8	CAT 1 5	CAT 2 10	5th	78
2011	EPIC Racing	ALC 1 4	ALC 2 3	SPA 1 3	SPA 2 5	MNZ 1 18	MNZ 2 5	MON 1 9	NÜR 1 5	NÜR 2 6	HUN 1 Ret	HUN 2 2	SIL 1 5	SIL 2 5	LEC 1 DSQ	LEC 2 7	CAT 1 Ret	CAT 2 1	4th	151

Complete GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup results

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Pos.	Points
2016	Emil Frey Racing	Emil Frey GT3 Jaguar	Pro	MNZ 20	SIL 43	LEC 42	SPA 6H 17	SPA 12H 22	SPA 24H 53	NÜR Ret	NC	0
2017	Emil Frey Racing	Emil Frey GT3 Jaguar	Pro	MNZ 31	SIL 10	LEC 39	SPA 6H 46	SPA 12H 55	SPA 24H Ret	CAT	51st	1
2018	Emil Frey Lexus Racing	Lexus RC F GT3	Pro	MNZ 17	SIL 9	LEC 1	SPA 6H 31	SPA 12H 20	SPA 24H 13	CAT Ret	9th	35
2019	Orange1 FFF Racing Team	Lamborghini Huracán GT3	Pro	MNZ	SIL	LEC	SPA 6H	SPA 12H	SPA 24H	CAT 1	10th	25
2020	Emil Frey Racing	Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo	Pro	IMO 18	NÜR Ret	SPA 6H 6	SPA 12H 11	SPA 24H 31	LEC 8		19th	8
2021	Emil Frey Racing	Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo	Pro	MNZ 23	LEC 36	SPA 6H 56†	SPA 12H Ret	SPA 24H Ret	NÜR 4	CAT 8	17th	16
2022	Emil Frey Racing	Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo	Pro	IMO 13	LEC 6	SPA 6H 40	SPA 12H Ret	SPA 24H Ret	HOC 6	CAT 3	15th	32

Complete GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup results

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Pos.	Points
2023	Emil Frey Racing	Ferrari 296 GT3	Pro	BRH1 7	BRH2 23	MIS1 5	MIS2 5	HOC1 4	HOC2 6	VAL1 2	VAL2 3	ZAN1 2	ZAN2 8	4th	62.5

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2023	Inter Europol Competition	Fabio Scherer Jakub Śmiechowski	Oreca 07-Gibson	LMP2	328	9th	1st

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

Year	Entrant	Class	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Rank	Points
2023	Inter Europol Competition	LMP2	Oreca 07	Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8	SEB 3	ALG 9	SPA 3	LMS 1	MNZ 5	FUJ 9	BHR 6	2nd	114

^* Season still in progress.

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Rank	Points
2023	Emil Frey Racing	Ferrari 296 GT3	OSC 1	OSC 2	ZAN 1 8	ZAN 2 Ret	NOR 1	NOR 2	NÜR 1	NÜR 2	LAU 1	LAU 2	SAC 1	SAC 2	RBR 1	RBR 2	HOC 1	HOC 2	28th	8

Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Class	Make	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Rank	Points
2024	Conquest Racing	GTD	Ferrari 296 GT3	Ferrari 3.0 L Turbo V6	DAY	SEB	LBH	LGA	WGL	MOS	ELK	VIR	IMS	PET

References

^ "Albert Costa - Driver". Albert Costa. Archived from the original on 21 November 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
British Formula 3 Championship. 20 March 2007. Archived from the original
on 18 April 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2009.

^ "Vodafone Bucharest Challenge 07: 2007 Lloyds TSB Insurance British F3 International Series". mstworld.com. MST Systems. 19 May 2007. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2009.

^ "Costa champion!". renault-sport.com. Renault Sport. 25 October 2009. Retrieved 5 January 2010.^{[permanent dead link]}

Motors TV. Archived from the original
on 19 June 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2012.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Albert Costa (racing driver).

Albert Costa career summary at DriverDB.com

Sporting positions

Preceded by
Valtteri Bottas

2009
Succeeded by
Kevin Korjus

Preceded by
Daniel Ricciardo
Formula Renault 2.0 WEC
Champion
2009 Succeeded by
None
(Series ended)

Preceded by
Stefano Comini

2012
Succeeded by
Mirko Bortolotti

Preceded by
Mikkel Mac
International GT Open
Champion
2019
With: Giacomo Altoè Succeeded by
Henrique Chaves
Miguel Ramos

v
t
e
Teams and drivers that will be competing in the 2023 World Endurance Championship in the LMP2 category
Prema Racing Vector Sport United Autosports

9. Andrea Caldarelli / Juan Manuel Correa / Filip Ugran / Bent Viscaal

63. Mirko Bortolotti / Daniil Kvyat / Doriane Pin

10. Gabriel Aubry / Ryan Cullen / Matthias Kaiser

22.
Philip Hanson / Frederick Lubin

23. Tom Blomqvist / Giedo van der Garde / Oliver Jarvis / Josh Pierson

Alpine Elf Team

28. Pietro Fittipaldi / David Heinemeier Hansson / Oliver Rasmussen

31. Robin Frijns / Sean Gelael / Ferdinand Habsburg

41. Rui Andrade / Louis Delétraz / Robert Kubica

34. Albert Costa / Fabio Scherer / Jakub Śmiechowski

35. Olli Caldwell / André Negrão / Memo Rojas

36. Julien Canal / Charles Milesi / Matthieu Vaxivière

Other drivers:
v
t
e
Formula Renault Eurocup Drivers' Champions

1991 J. Plato
1992 P. de la Rosa
1993 O. Couvreur
1994 J. Matthews
1995 C. Sauvage
1996 E. Bernoldi
1997 J. van Hooydonk
1998 B. Besson
1999 G. Bruni
2000 F. Massa

2001 A. Farfus

E. Salignon

2003 E. Guerrieri
2004 S. Speed
2005 K. Kobayashi
2006 F. Albuquerque
2007 B. Hartley
2008 V. Bottas
2009 A. Costa
2010 K. Korjus

2011 R. Frijns
2012 S. Vandoorne
2013 P. Gasly
2014 N. de Vries
2015 J. Aitken
2016 L. Norris
2017 S. Fenestraz
2018 M. Fewtrell
2019 O. Piastri
2020 V. Martins

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Albert_Costa_(racing_driver)&oldid=1217712541"

[1] "Albert Costa - Driver". Albert Costa. Archived from the original on 21 November 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2009.

[2] British Formula 3 Championship. 20 March 2007. Archived from the original
on 18 April 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2009.

[3] "Vodafone Bucharest Challenge 07: 2007 Lloyds TSB Insurance British F3 International Series". mstworld.com. MST Systems. 19 May 2007. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 28 September 2009.

[4] "Costa champion!". renault-sport.com. Renault Sport. 25 October 2009. Retrieved 5 January 2010.^{[permanent dead link]}

[5] Motors TV. Archived from the original
on 19 June 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2012.

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]