Albert Costa (racing driver)

Albert Costa Balboa is a Spanish racing driver who is competing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Conquest Racing. He was the 2009 Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 champion, and has competed in sports car racing since 2012, including LMP2 class victory in the 2023 24 Hours of Le Mans.

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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, except for 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 on many conventional lower single-seater formulae. 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.

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.

Eurocup Megane Trophy

Costa remained part of the World Series by Renault in 2012 as he switched to Eurocup Megane Trophy with defending champions Oregon. He had hoped to remain on the single-seater ladder, but a budget shortfall necessitated his switch to tin-tops. Costa won the title at his first attempt, scoring seven race victories along the way.

Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe AWS Sprint Cup

Costa made his debut in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup after 6 years in the Endurance Cup with Emil Frey Racing.
Costa would 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 has consistently finished in the top-ten in the first half of the 2023 Season but has yet to stand on the podium in the sprint cup.

Racing record

Career summary

^* Season still in progress.

Complete Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 results

Year

Entrant

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

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

Year

Team

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

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

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 FIA World Endurance Championship results

^* Season still in progress.

Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters results

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