Dan Ticktum had a strong outing in Race 1 of the Formula E Berlin E-Prix again, following his sensational win in Jakarta. The Cupra Kiro driver left to rue a strategic mistake by the team that might have cost him a Top 5 finish.
Changes to the car helped for the Berlin E-Prix
Speaking to Pit Debrief after the first race of the Berlin E-Prix weekend, Ticktum explained that changes to the car after a difficult Qualifying improved his competitiveness.
“Yeah, it was a bit of a mixed race today. The car wasn’t great in qualifying, so we made some changes going into the race. And for the full wet, they worked. We were definitely more competitive.”
Unfortunately, taking the Attack Mode too late into the race was not the correct decision by the team.
“I got caught with a train of cars, the Maserati’s and Barnard, because we decided to take our attack modes late. So the whole train, the fast train, pulled away because they took attack mode early. I think we should have done that, so that was a mistake on the team’s side.”
Incident at the end cost Top 5 finish, believes Ticktum
“And then, we got a bit lucky with the last minute. Ten laps from the end, there was a safety car. We had both our attacks, so it looked like we were in a good place. And, there was an incident at turn six, and I had to avoid a crash, and I lost four places. So, just a bit of an average day.”
While some speculated that the Safety Car at the end of the race could have been the lucky charm for Ticktum, the driver himself made clear that the chaos that caused it cost him a lot of time: “I lost a lot of time with this incident. So, you know, if that didn’t happen, I think I could have been fourth or fifth. It could have been a better day.”
Despite the missed chances, Ticktum is confident that the second race in Berlin will go well.
“Yeah, confident. I’m very relaxed at the moment. The car seems to be, in most scenarios, pretty good. I just think we slightly didn’t get it right in qualifying today. But looking forward to tomorrow.”
