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Albert Costa
Albert Costa
	Costa in 2023
Nationality	Spanish
Born	2 May 1990 (age 34); Barcelona, Spain
FIA World Endurance Championship career
Debut season	2023
Current team	Inter Europol Competition
Racing licence	FIA Platinum
Car number	34
Starts	7 (7 entries)
Wins	1
Podiums	2
Poles	0
Fastest laps	0
Best finish	2nd in in 2023
Previous series
2008–09; 2008–09; 2007	Formula Renault 3.5; Formula Renault 2.0 WEC; Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0; British F3 National Class
Championship titles
2009; 2009; 2012	Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0; Formula Renault 2.0 WEC; Eurocup Mégane Trophy
Fanatec GTWC Europe Sprint Cup career
Debut season	2016
Current team	Emil Frey Racing
Car number	69
Former teams	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, set to compete in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for DragonSpeed. 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 ICA Junior class karts, finishing in seventh position. He continued in the same class in 2005, with the exception of the Copa Campeones Trophy, where he competed in the ICA class. He finished seventh again in that race, adding a seventh in the Spanish ICA Junior Championship, a 27th in the Andrea Margutti Trophy, and 29th in the European Championship. However, Costa excelled himself later in the season, winning the 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 Formula Renault to compete in the Eurocup and West European Cup for Epsilon Euskadi. Costa finished eighth in the pan-European series, despite failing to finish on the podium in any of the fourteen races. His best finish was fourth at the Nürburgring and Le Mans. He also recorded the fastest lap during the first race at 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 António Félix da Costa, and two weeks later, sealed the WEC title thanks to a double win at the 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 €500,000 prize money for winning the Eurocup title, Costa graduated to the Formula Renault 3.5 Series in 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 Pro-Am	Nielsen Racing	3	0	0	0	1	33	10th
	IMSA SportsCar Championship – GTD	Conquest Racing	10	1	0	0	3	2577	4th
	IMSA SportsCar Championship – GTD Pro	Conquest Racing	1	0	0	0	0	266	37th
	GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup	Eastalent Racing	1	0	0	0	0	0	NC

^* Season still in progress.

Complete Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 results

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

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Pos	Points
2008	Epsilon Euskadi 2	SPA 1 5	SPA 2 Ret	SIL 1 8	SIL 2 Ret	HUN 1 7	HUN 2 5	NÜR 1 30	NÜR 2 4	LMS 1 Ret	LMS 2 4	EST 1 34	EST 2 15	CAT 1 Ret	CAT 2 Ret	8th	35
2009	Epsilon Euskadi	CAT 1 DSQ	CAT 2 1	SPA 1 1	SPA 2 1	HUN 1 Ret	HUN 2 2	SIL 1 2	SIL 2 Ret	LMS 1 2	LMS 2 Ret	NÜR 1 1	NÜR 2 1	ALC 1 2	ALC 2 3	1st	138

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 Eurocup Mégane Trophy 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	Pos	Points
2012	Oregon Team	ALC 1 2	ALC 2 3	SPA 1 Ret	SPA 2 3	NÜR 1 1	NÜR 2 2	MSC 1 5	MSC 2 1	HUN 1 1	HUN 2 1	LEC 1 1	LEC 2 1	CAT 1 Ret	CAT 2 1	1st	251

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	BRH 1 7	BRH 2 23	MIS 1 5	MIS 2 5	HOC 1 4	HOC 2 6	VAL 1 2	VAL 2 3	ZAN 1 2	ZAN 2 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 3	SEB 11	LBH 12	LGA 15	WGL 2	MOS 11	ELK 6	VIR 5	IMS 19	PET 1	4th	2577
2024	Conquest Racing	GTD Pro	Ferrari 296 GT3	Ferrari 3.0 L Turbo V6	DAY	SEB	LGA	DET 7	WGL	MOS	ELK	VIR	IMS	PET	29th	266

References

^ "Albert Costa – Driver". Albert Costa. Archived from the original on 21 November 2009. Retrieved 28 September 2009.
^ "Thirty Three Cars for 2007 Series". fota.co.uk. 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]}
^ Weeks, James (22 February 2012). "Costa makes Eurocup Megane Trophy switch for 2012". motorstv.com. Motors TV. Archived from the original on 19 June 2012. Retrieved 22 February 2012.

External links

Albert Costa career summary at DriverDB.com

Sporting positions
Preceded by Valtteri Bottas	Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 Champion 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	Eurocup Mégane Trophy Champion 2012	Succeeded by Mirko Bortolotti
Preceded by Mikkel Mac	International GT Open Champion 2019 With: Giacomo Altoè	Succeeded by Henrique Chaves Miguel Ramos