One of Formula E’s most outspoken and opinionated drivers has outlined what Formula E should do to bolster its presence on the world racing stage as it leaps in to its fourth era.
Ticktum attended the Paul Ricard Gen4 launch event last month and was impressed with the Gen4 car but stated that it was important for it to be marketed “aggressively” and “tactically.”
“I think the key thing is just to make it exciting and a bit more ‘wow’, he told Formula E Notebook.
“It is very hard to do with the Gen3 car but with the Gen4 car I certainly think we can manage it. Also, I’d like to see more city centre races and really I don’t want us to go to more permanent tracks because then you’re just going to get compared to F1 and it’s not going to be as quick although it is going to be a lot closer.”
Ticktum is immersed in a specific type of car culture, one that he indulges in via his own social media and also via a new TV vehicle which he has been working on for over a year.
But the CUPRA Kiro driver is also pragmatic in understanding that Formula E needs to back its ambition with commercial investment, particularly in relation to understanding that in addition to its strong sustainability work, making it appealing for car culture enthusiasts the world over.
“I think obviously then money comes into these big, big conversations but I would say the headline for me is, while sustainability is obviously a big thing in Formula E and it’s important to represent that as a championship and it has always been at the heart of it, that isn’t necessarily why people watch racing, people who love cars. So, this is probably their prime motivator for watching.
“I think the people at the top of the championship running it, recognise that we just need to make it cool and do some f****** weird marketing events,” added Ticktum.
“Take it to Alaska to just do some social media, that is a massive currency, and I think with Gen4 some of the things it can do we need to absolutely be capitalising on that. Get it in ‘CarWow’ to get millions of views and it’ll be everything.”
“Look I don’t want to say Gen4’s make or break and I don’t want to put it like that because I don’t believe that is necessarily true and there’s obviously a lot of external factors with how much manufacturers are going to want to be involved with the electric car market.
Ticktum is also understanding of external factors and matters beyond Formula E’s control can also affect the perception of all-electric racing, saying that “Formula E was growing rapidly before Covid and I feel like certain people are starting to have apprehensions about electric in general, so that’s external factors that obviously none of us can control.”
“I think the key thing is just to make it exciting and a bit more ‘wow’. That was very hard to do with the Gen3 car but with the Gen4 I certainly think we can manage it.
“Personally, I’d like to see more city centre races as I don’t want us to go to more permanent tracks because then you’re just going to get compared to F1 and it’s not going to be as quick.”
