Ticktum silences doubters with well-judged Jakarta win

Dan Ticktum feels his maiden Formula E victory in the Jakarta E-Prix provides vindication and has proved doubters wrong.

Ticktum has garnered something of a "bad boy" reputation over the years, but he feels too much focus has been put on his personality, and his past successes – which include a pair of Macau Grand Prix wins and victories in Formula 2 – that have earned him a spot on the Formula E grid get overlooked.

“I've had a lot of doubt and a lot of hate from people over the years and people, with short-term memory issues, forgetting that I won a fair few things on my way up the ladder,” said Ticktum. “I think the first three seasons of Formula E were very, very tough. It was difficult to remain motivated. But this season is pretty much as good as I could have hoped for. We definitely struggled at the start to adapt with all the new systems and the new powertrain, but the team have done a remarkable job, especially since Miami.

“I think the rate of improvement has been very, very good, even at this weekend. FP1 and FP2 were kind of pointless because the track was just so different all the time, so we had to make some educated guesses with the systems, the balance, and we seem to be getting it right pretty much all the time at the moment. “

“[I’m] very appreciative of the opportunity with the new investors to put the deal together with Porsche and Cupra, and just, just very proud of the team, to be honest. It's a special, special feeling.

“It's difficult to say this without sounding arrogant, but this is kind of where I feel I should be. I've proved it in the past and other categories, so it's kind of like it's happened now. Obviously inside there's, there's a lot of emotions, [I’m] very, very happy.

“Formula E and the team have given me a fantastic platform for me to be me so far, and I've really, really enjoyed this season. And I think this is going to be a place, hopefully, in the next maybe decade, where I make a very good career.”

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“The race today was fairly tough,” he said. “There was only sort of one racing line, so overtaking was very tough.

“Edo was quite comfortably faster than me in the last few laps, but because the targets went high, [he] couldn't really overtake – but it didn't make it easy for me.”