Dan Ticktum has questioned the future and direction of Formula 1, as the first year of increased electrification in the sport approaches.
Ticktum, who races in the all-electric Formula E World Championship, is unquestionably a champion for the series, having previous stated his willingness for it to grow, particularly with the forthcoming Gen4 era.
Growth of Formula E will encourage further awareness of its Net Zero and environmentally-friendly modus operandi, which dovetails with the highly-competitive nature of the series.
F1 is about to begin a new era of technical regulations, which sees the previous 80-20 V6 hybrids become 50-50, requiring drivers to consistently think about energy harvesting through qualifying and the race.
The issue between the increasing similarities of F1 and FE is now a huge talking point, with Max Verstappen stating that the new cars are like “Formula E on steroids.”
Ticktum questioned whether where F1 is currently positioning itself on the world stage correlates to what fans really want, and believes that the continued growth of Formula E should enable F1 to be the complete opposite in its identity.
“If I’m being brutally honest, but I think F1 – it should be a sport,” he told Motorsport Week in an exclusive interview.
“So what do people want to see from a sport? What do petrolheads want to see? They want to see a massive, great V12 screaming, and maybe not so much downforce, but massive cars that are a bit more difficult to drive.
“I don’t know what people want to see, but I’d say largely that. So when you’re in this middle ground, I don’t feel like you please anyone, really.
“Obviously, there is a transition period, and we knew it was going to take a couple of slash several decades.
“Who knows where F1 will end up? But I think with FE, the more that grows and the more that becomes prominent, personally, as a lover of the sport, I’d like to see F1 go back the other way.
“I’d like it to be, ‘here’s the sport, which is just about pleasure and enjoyment and engines and fuel and all the rest of it’. I don’t know if that’s going to die out. Who knows?”
‘Strip that out’ – Dan Ticktum champions a return to V8s
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has been a continued proponent of F1 returning to internal combustion power, with added Kinetic Energy Recovery System [KERS] added, as was the case with the final cars of the pre-V6 hybrid era.
The president’s stance has been that V8 engines would be cheaper to produce for teams, and can be run on sustainable fuels, ensuring a continuity in its credentials as a cleaner, greener sport.
Ticktum issued a very similar view, believing that the fans would prefer that kind of power unit, and would make racing much more exciting.
“But I’d like it to be one and the other [a difference between F1 and FE,”] he continued. Because no one likes the noise of a 1.6-litre four-cylinder or V6, no one likes it,” he continued.
“And then you’ve got this bit of electric stuff which adds a load of weight to the cars. Strip all that out.
“Even put a V8 in it, run it on sustainable fuels, good noise, car’s 200 kilos lighter. You’ve got a much better sport, in my opinion.”
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