TICKED OFF
Future holds no fear for racing bad boy Dan
RACING bad boy Dan Ticktum has admitted he could quit Formula E.
The 24-year-old Londoner was given a career reprieve in the allelectric series in 2022 when the then-named NIO333 team took a gamble to give him his first paid drive.
It came after years of discontent where many thought Ticktum had ended his own career through ill-discipline, which included a yearlong ban for deliberately crashing into a rival.
He was then axed by both the Red Bull and Williams F1 driver academies.
Now in his third season in Formula E and the final year of his contract – and heading into this weekend’s Sao Paulo E-Prix without a point to his name from the opening three races – Ticktum says he is assessing options elsewhere. He said: “I am just doing what is best for my career. My contract is up at the end of the year and I will be exploring alternative options in other categories and keeping an open mind.
“I have enjoyed my three years in Formula
E, so it’ll be a shame for that to go to waste. It is a good chunk of my career.
“Hypercar is a fantastic option. Driving for Ferrari or Lambo in Hypercars would be a pretty incredible place to be.
“The other one is IndyCar. I put to bed the idea of doing that years ago because I was sceptical of the safety and living in America. Bbut now a few years on, it would be quite an exciting thing to do. It’s one of the last racing series where you race flat out. It is just you in the car, still working with the teams.
“I don’t know where I am going to be. I might get a good offer here, I just don’t know.”
Despite driving in one of the least competitive cars on the Formula E grid, Ticktum enjoyed a successful 2023 season with numerous points finishes, including a sixth place in Monaco.
He said: “Last year was positive, the one-lap pace was good. I am not sure there is a lot more we could have done.
“I would like to score a few more points but being realistic, the races are probably going to be tough.”
Watch the Sao Paulo E-Prix live on TNT Sports this Saturday.