Dan Ticktum on Formula E: "In terms of talent and potential, I’ll be in the top three drivers on this grid."
(copyright FIA Formula E)
“It’s no surprise to me he’s doing well.” Dan Ticktum has cut this writer off, and to be fair, considering the observation made, it’s hard to argue with him doing that. The point had just been made, that a lot of people had not thought Jake Dennis would be the success he has been in Formula E, given his background in GTs.
“Every driver on this grid is bloody good, to be honest, but Jake is very, very good,” Ticktum responded. The Formula E grid is famously open to new arrivals, and there are plenty of people willing to give them a warm welcome. In such an environment, Ticktum gets along with Dennis particularly well, it seems. The two British drivers share an outwardly bullish demeanour, and a willingness to hold their own on-track.
It is this sometimes combative side which led to him making heated remarks about driving standards after his first race in Diriyah. Asked by RaceFans’ Hazel Southwell for his feelings after his debut race weekend, Ticktum had replied, “everyone who does, or attempts, an overtaking manoeuvre sort of goes into the move with the idea of crashing. Basically, everyone seems to crash into each other when they’re overtaking. Every move I had done on me, I got crashed into. So if that’s how everyone plays the game here, I’ll be doing the same.”
They were the sort of remarks that probably go through the heads of hundreds of racing drivers every weekend, and yet it was a surprise to read it. Ticktum, though, has never liked to mince his words. The British driver has had his fair share of controversy in the past, but is in Formula E on merit and looking to prove a point, as, on his day, one of the quickest drivers out there.
A new start
Ticktum enters the pits (copyright FIA Formula E)
This new start at NIO333 in Formula E is, then, something of a career reboot in motorsport. Ticktum appears unfazed by the challenge, saying, “it’s different, but it just drives like a light road car, to be honest. It still feels like a single-seater, but it wasn’t that hard to adapt to.”
Even the tyres, derived from road tyres rather than the racing rubber he had hitherto run, were not an issue in his mind. “The characteristics, in terms of how you warm them up and so on, they’re pretty similar… F2’s a bit different, so exclude that one, but in terms of how you’re bringing the tyre up on a warm-up, and how they behave, it’s the same, but it’s slightly more forgiving.”
Ticktum running with teammate Oliver Turvey (copyright FIA Formula E)
Mitch Evans is a great example of a young driver who came into Formula E as someone known only to the cognoscenti of the junior series, and built a reputation by racing exclusively in the category thereafter. When asked if he was modelling his own future on Evans, Ticktum shook his head.
“Not really, no - I don’t really have any role-models, to be honest; I would say Senna, Hunt, because he was a character, and Ronaldo,” he laughed. “What Jake [Dennis] has done in the past year is something to look up to, there’s no doubt about that - though as we’ve spoken about, we [at NIO333] haven’t quite got the package to be racing for those sorts of results.”
Getting results at a smaller team like NIO333 relies on working closely as a group. Ticktum has Oliver Turvey, rated as one of the most knowledgeable drivers on engineering, and a good teammate. Had Ticktum taken a lot of information from him in order to get started in Formula E?
“The answer is not a lot, really. I’ve done my fair share of Formula One stuff, Formula Two… I’ve asked, obviously, about the car in general, and I’ve spoken to Jake Dennis and other people too, but there’s only so much they can tell you.”
Future expectations
(copyright FIA Formula E)
Ticktum speaks as he finds, and he did so when discussing what he expected from himself in the future.
“Yeah, I mean,” Ticktum paused for a moment, as if balancing his true feelings with the wish to avoid bad headlines. “I don’t like sitting here and rating myself, because it always comes across as arrogant, unfortunately, but I do believe that after a year or so’s experience, in terms of talent and potential, I’ll be in the top three drivers on this grid.”
It was a significant claim, and Ticktum seemed to detect this. “They’re all amazing on this grid; it’s one of the strongest grids out there, but I don’t believe there’s anyone who’s actually, in Formula E, more talented than me. Potentially quicker? I don’t think there’s anyone, to be honest.
“In terms of this season, my job is to help bring the team up the grid, help the team progress, simple as that. My other job is to beat my teammate, proving myself to the paddock. In some races we’re going to be at the back, so the only way I can prove myself is by beating Oliver. I don’t have big external goals in any season, just tick every box as they come, and the best results come from that.”
Dr. Steve Peters, in his former role as sports psychologist at British Cycling, helped popularise within high-level sport the concept of cutting out distractions in order to focus on goals. Within the previously old-fashioned world of motorsport, Nico Rosberg was very open about his use of a mental coach to beat Lewis Hamilton to the 2016 Formula One World Championship. Citing Rosberg’s use of such a coach to reach new levels in his career, Ticktum was asked if he would consider bringing someone in from outside, to help maintain that focus.
“No, I haven’t got a mental coach, and, I’ll be honest, I’ve been open to seeing them, and I’ll go to an interview, but I never feel like they actually bring anything to the table. I feel like I know myself pretty bloody well, so, no it’s not something I’ve ever benefited from, or seen the benefit in.”
For now, Ticktum is trusting in his own judgement. If he can get it right, there’s no reason why his forecast will not come true - the talent and the potential pace is certainly there.