Dan Ticktum: “I believe we can take the fight to quite a few teams”

Dan Ticktum is ready to “hit the ground running” in his second season in the ABB FIA Formula E World Championship, starting this weekend at the season-opening race of both Season Nine, and the incredibly exciting third generation of the series.

The Mexico City E-Prix will host this weekend’s season-opening race, where nothing can seemingly be predicted, given that it is the start of a new era for the all-electric series. Ticktum goes into the year, though, feeling more prepared than he was in his rookie campaign in 2022, given that he “now knows all the circuits”.

The new machinery will also see the British driver back on more of a level playing field, given that he joined Formula E in the final season of Gen2. NIO 333 Racing also appear to be better prepared this year, with the side having arguably posted more social media footage of their Gen3 challenger than any other team. Demonstrating a sense of confidence.

There is no hiding the fact that Gen2 was really tough for NIO, given that they were a regular backmarker; however, Ticktum is hopeful that Gen3 will be the fresh start that the team needs, with the belief being that they can “take the fight to quite a few teams”.

“I’m really looking forward to the start of the season. Obviously I’m not a rookie anymore, so my aim is to hit the ground running. I now know all the circuits, and I think the team’s made good progress in terms of where we’re going to be and I believe we can take the fight to quite a few teams.

“I’m also really looking forward to going back to Mexico, and one of the main reasons is because of the fans. I was out there a couple of days early last year and I was able to look around the city, and it was one of the events I enjoyed the most; the city, the fans, the food, so I’m really looking forward to kicking off the season there.”

“There’ll be some issues for everyone” – Sérgio Sette Câmara

Alongside Ticktum at the Silverstone-based team is the highly-rated Sérgio Sette Câmara, who makes the switch to NIO from Dragon/Penske Autosport. There is no argument that the Chinese team have signed a really exciting driver, who has proved countless times during qualifying that he is a very quick driver. What lets the Brazilian down, though, is his consistency, something which he has previously lacked in when it comes to the race itself.

Gen3, though, is a great chance for Sette Câmara to reset his approach to the sport, especially with consistency set to be so key in the fragile Gen3 cars. It would come as no shock if the Brazilian makes it into the duels on Saturday, the question will be, though, if he can turn a strong qualifying performance into solid points.

Looking ahead to this weekend at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodrîguez, the Brazilian driver is targeting “as few mistakes as possible”, with the belief being that throughout the weekend “there’ll be some issues for everyone”

“I’m really excited for Mexico – this is the first time I’ve been racing since Season 8 finished in mid-August, so it’s been a long time. Racing with the new cars with Gen3, and also for me the first time with the NIO 333 Racing Formula E Team, there are so many new things for me, so I’m excited to see how we go.

“My objective is to be in the points and make as few mistakes as possible. We know there’ll be some issues for everyone, whether they’re technical, driving, or operational, as everything is so new, so I expect whoever makes the fewest mistakes will have the best weekend.”

Credit: Simon Galloway / LAT Images