In the opener of Diriyah, Ticktum’s first Formula E race, the British driver found himself in a close battle at Turn 1 which ultimately resulted in Antonio Felix da Costa dropping out of the race.
Ticktum then had a battle during that run with fellow rookie Oliver Askew, whom he found to be particularly tough ahead of the American’s late rise up the order.
Reflecting on his early FE races in Saudi Arabia, Ticktum said he felt his rivals were liberal with contact in wheel-to-wheel battles – but added that he found these fights exciting.
“People clash a lot,” Ticktum said when asked to reflect on his first weekend.
“It’s like a British touring car race, which I knew a bit from watching it, but you know it seems like some don’t overtake without making contact. I’ve got a lot of people crashing into me! “
Asked what he thought of a possible ‘rubbing is racing’ mentality in Formula E, Ticktum added “I like it, it’s exciting!”
Ticktum also explained what he felt he learned from his first race weekend in regards to the Formula E machinery challenge, believing that while the power saving aspect was new to him, it seemed ” intuitive” driving.
“I obviously think regeneration is a very different thing for me, but I have to say I didn’t feel like I struggled with anything; it was all relatively intuitive.”
Dan Ticktum, NIO 333
Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images
Looking ahead to Saturday’s race at Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez for the Mexico City E-Prix, Ticktum said he felt the wider track would mean a generally cleaner race, but felt his team NIO 333 might have a little more trouble with the circuit requirements.
“[The racing will be] definitely cleaner, it’s more of a purpose built track. It’s wider; like turn 3 can be a bit awkward and people sometimes put their noses in it.
“We’ll see, I think we could struggle a bit more here. I think it’s a bit more power-oriented than Riyadh, but I’ll always do my best.”
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