Motorsport Week asks if Dan Ticktum, who claimed his maiden Formula E victory last weekend, has managed to silence those who have tried to pile negativity on him for a long time?
Ticktum’s victory in the Jakarta E-Prix almost felt inevitable. Not only because of his undeniable talent and the continuing growth of the Cupra Kiro team for which he drives, but also because it feels as if the world has finally started to take notice of this plucky, charismatic and often-misunderstood Londoner.
For Formula E naysayers and pooh-pooh’ers, Ticktum is little more than some mouthy yob who takes out other drivers and berates his team on the radio and spends more time killing the enemy on Call of Duty on his Twitch streams.
Utter, utter drivel.
Well, maybe not the Call of Duty bit!
But in all seriousness, Ticktum is talented. Always has been. A regrettable incident in his junior days in which he took out another opponent was inexcusable, and one he apologised for at the time.
Since then, there has been no real discernible incidents other than a few hurty words said over radio, but much of the outbursts we ever hear now are things that every other driver has said themselves, or, at the very least, thought it.
And to boot, he showed how good he is by winning the Macau Grand Prix seven years ago, a prestigious milestone event for any young racing driver.
He’s often quick to praise his team even when things go wrong, and after his milestone moment in Jakarta, they were one of the first things he talked about.
Again, those who malign this hugely exciting all-electric championship will tell you that Ticktum has taken 60 races to win, ergo, he must be rubbish. Fact is, he’s driven rubbish pretty much up until this season, when the ERT/NIO 555 [and whatever else it has been called] built its own powertrains. Put a year-old Porsche in it, and look at it, and him, go.
Documentary star and charity fundraiser
In terms of public exposure, it seems as if Amazon Prime’s docuseries ‘Formula E: DRIVER’ has been a big catalyst in Ticktum’s profile rising like his name on the timesheets. His name, along with the other drivers featured in the show – Mitch Evans, Antonio Felix da Costa and Jake Dennis – all had notoriety in the sport, but Ticktum’s misunderstood element has seemingly been stuck in the metaphorical cocktail shaker along with all the other ingredients, and it’s served up a cocktail that seems almost irresistible to turn down.
In fact, Ticktum told Motorsport Week in Monaco – the weekend in which the series was released – that he was content to play up to his image, saying there was “definitely a narrative to how my character’s portrayed, you know, sort of a bit more of a bad boy.”
He also said that he hoped for more episodes in the future, as “a lot of my stuff [that] was cut.”
This is also in part down to Kiro’s growing PR machine, which has been able to effectively turn Ticktum, in the nicest and most positive way possible, a meme, something that he has been able to play on with gusto and enthusiasm.
In its previous guises, much of the team, not just its powertrain department, was an in-house operation, and given its status as a backmarker, could often be ignored or forgotten given how the small team of hard-working people could only do so much.
This was culminated by his charity challenge with YouTuber Mr Beast, in which he scooped $100,000 for Help For Heroes, proving that there’s even more to his character of a positive bent.
Since Monaco, he has also been giving his own impromptu race debriefs on his Instagram story, which often last for several minutes and provide a no holds barred take on his race.
Now with more people in place, Ticktum’s stock has continued to rise, and the happy coincidence is that he’s been able to match it by being ridiculously fast.
A technical mistake in qualifying at the Monaco weekend robbed him of a likely pole, and a tiny mistake of his own in Tokyo robbed him of a pole position, but was still able to take his first-ever podium.
A big fan base for a talent even George Russell can’t deny
A crucial indicator of Ticktum’s popularity amongst his fellow drivers was also evident on that occasion, as he noted that many drivers acknowledged him on the cool down lap. He is not an individual that is kept at arm’s length.
And if anyone else was in any doubt, perhaps it’s time to observe his fanbase.
It’s big.
FE fans are passionate people who care for their sport and for the drivers they support, and when one notices that a Union Jack with ‘Ticktum’ across the front is the only driver-partisan flag you witness all weekend [in Monaco, no less], then you might have to wonder about how long his reach really is.
And then, finally, we come to George Russell.
After his controversial clash with Max Verstappen at the Spanish Grand Prix, Russell was asked if any other driver would do such a thing, to which he replied: “Maybe one British driver in Formula E.”
Cue a backlash, something that would have been far less likely even just a year ago. Nobody would have cared, but not now.
Another Instagram story in which Ticktum provided a hilarious response, thanking Russell for the free publicity. Russell himself seemed to back down, saying before the Canadian Grand Prix that Ticktum is “obviously talented” and there was no issue with him.
All these things have combined to make Dan Ticktum a figure less of ridicule and criticism, but more of a man who is finally starting to be understood and recognised as a talent and a personality, topped off by scoring that maiden triumph in Jakarta.
A Formula E car might not be the loudest thing on the planet, but right now, it is far louder than Ticktum’s haters, who have been forced to eat a rather large portion of humble pie.
And he’s served it to them with a smile.
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