Dan Ticktum has issued a strong desire to start being regularly at the front of the Formula E field and put his career prospects before anything else, acknowledging he is approaching his peak as his future in the series remains uncertain.
The Briton is widely regarded as not only a driver of high-level talent, but also one of the all-electric championship’s assets, in terms of his no-nonsense personality giving it better exposure.
Ticktum finally proved his worth in the series last year with a number of impressive drives, including victory in Jakarta, amid the Kiro’s strength via its Porsche powertrain, having moved to being a customer of the German marque after its transition from the previous Chinese ERT manufacturer squad.
Many questions have been asked of his suitability in what might be regarded as a ‘top team’, due to how his persona is perceived amongst a wider collective of racing fans.
In pre-season testing, Ticktum told Motorsport Week that he is constantly looking to find the perfect balance between personal happiness within a team, and being at one that can give him the chance to challenge for wins.
The 26-year-old is out of contract with the Silverstone-based squad at the end of the season, and revealed that he is chomping at the bit to be somewhere where he can push for success.
Yeah, I just want to be somewhere I can win really now, you know?” he told Motorsport Week in an exclusive interview ahead of last weekend’s Monaco E-Prix. “You can win here [Kiro] obviously, and I think next year if I were to stay with this team and they have a Porsche powertrain, the current Porsche powertrain, it’s going to be a very good place to be. So yeah, I don’t know.
“Look, as I always say when I get asked these questions, I’ll just do what’s best for my career. So whatever that may be.”
‘I don’t want to just loiter in the midfield’ – Dan Ticktum has lofty ambitions
When reminded about his previous statement about the happiness-success ratio, Ticktum ceded that his peak as a driver is to be soon reached, and has ambitions to finally land himself in the right end of the field on a more regular basis.
“Yeah, I think being happy is a large part of it, but I think happiness would also come from winning, so I don’t know,” he said.
“I’m sort of obviously approaching my peak and I don’t really want to just loiter in the midfield. I mean, there’s obviously certain things that I’m not perfect all the time, but I feel like I know this championship well enough where, 99 times out of 100, I am more or less doing the right thing.
“There’s a few things we get wrong as a team. And, to be honest, this year, it’s been largely out of our control. Really, I mean, I actually don’t really think strategy wise, I can’t highlight a particular race where we’ve really f**ked up.
“I mean, maybe the gamble on the tyres in Miami, but we were at the back anyway, because quali was shit with a bad set of tyres. So I don’t know, maybe that was a bit of a risk. But I just feel like, yeah, it’s all been out of our control this year and we should be a lot further up than where we are.”
Formula E has given Ticktum a platform to be himself, and regardless of incidents such as his controversial clash with Antonio Felix da Costa in Monaco, there is no doubt his talent would be put to good use in a high-performing car.
READ MORE – Dan Ticktum delivers ‘write off’ verdict of Formula E season despite ‘best driving in my career’
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