After back-to-back pole positions for the Monaco E-Prix, hopes of victory were squandered in each race for Dan Ticktum, which left him understandably frustrated.
Despite starting on the front row, the first race of the weekend saw the Brit settle for third before he made contact with Antonio Felix da Costa in the closing stages, leading to a disputed 33-second penalty and saw him drop down through the order.
In Race 2, fortunes went against Ticktum again. Struggling for pace amongst the top five in the Attack Mode section of the race, Ticktum was dealt a final blow by the FIA, receiving a five-second penalty for speeding under the Full Course Yellow.
An impressive qualifying
Speaking about the positives of the weekend, Ticktum told Motorsport Week he was happy about the steps he’d taken in qualifying, which he deemed the best driving in his career.
“I’ve said to a number of people, I do think that’s some of the best driving I’ve ever done, really, in my career.”
“I’ve put myself under quite a lot of pressure going into this weekend. I feel like I always get a lot out of myself, but I really, really wanted to try this weekend. I think, I don’t think I could have done a whole lot more, certainly not in quali anyway.”
Ticktum was also vocal about how unhappy he is with the current state of racing in the FE championship.
“As we know, at the moment, I’ve been perhaps a bit too vocal about it, but I don’t really like how the races are in this championship at the moment.
“I think there’s too much emphasis on strategy and luck rather than driver merit. In qualifying, it is how you work with your engineers and how well you drive. You know, we’re all flat out.”
Despite his issues, Ticktum was quick to praise his team and the machinery they provided him with this weekend.
“I think the package that they gave me today was just unbelievable. Yesterday, I don’t think we had the fastest car. I think I did a great job. Today, I mean, I did a good job, but the car was really in a sweet spot.”
A ‘write-off’ season
Looking towards the season as a whole, Ticktum painted a far more pessimistic picture.
“To be brutally honest, this season is a bit of a write-off now,” he said. “It was after Berlin, really. All I can hope for is to try and extract some good results here and there for the rest of this season.”
Gen4 is the light at the end of the tunnel for a dejected Ticktum, who sees the new regulations as more than a chance to reset but a chance to fight with less dependence on strategy, and also intimated the likelihood of remaining with Cupra Kiro for next season.
“Going into Gen4, likely I’ll be where I am. And if we do have a Porsche powertrain, I think we’re going to be very competitive,” he said. “I think the races are going to be less based on strategy and hopefully just more on merit.
“I really think that, you know, if we sort our strategy blunders out a bit more and we’re in a car that can race properly, I don’t see why I can’t win the championship.”
READ MORE: Oliver Rowland reignites Formula E title hopes with stunning Monaco victory
Discussion about this post