Ticktum confident he could 'at least match, if not better' Formula E star Dennis
Dan Ticktum is adamant he could "at least match, if not better" Formula E title favourite Jake Dennis if he had the same car.
The NIO driver is about to complete his second season on the all-electric grid and had raised eyebrows with some impressive performances, especially in qualifying, with a package that currently sits ninth in the teams' standings.
Ticktum, who previously had Formula 1 ambitions with both Red Bull and Williams, has seen his compatriot Dennis win multiple races with the Andretti driver the hot favourite to win his first drivers' title in the sport in London. The 24-year-old has no doubt that he remains one of the "best drivers around" and would at least be on par with Dennis in the same machinery.
He told Mirror Sport: "Absolutely yeah. I do think that Jake is very, very good - probably good enough for Formula 1. I think there's a lot of drivers here who have been in Formula 1 and I've said some people on this grid should be in Formula 1. I think this grid is incredibly strong and Jake is a very, very good. But I don't see why I couldn't, at the very least, match what he's doing, if not better it."
Ticktum has put his NIO in the top five on three occasions this season, taking a shock lead on the opening lap at the Berlin E-Prix before crashing out. The 24-year-old admits the race pace and efficiency is currently not there so sees qualifying as his chance to underline his quality.
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He added: "In terms of me as an advertisement to another team or another paddock, I feel like my only opportunity to show that I'm still one of the best drivers around is qualifying. Obviously if I do a good job in the race and cling onto some points there's even more value in that of course, but a lot of the time it isn't feasible."
Jake Dennis is favourite to claim the Formula E title this weekend (Danilo Di Giovanni/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock)Ticktum, who has previously been competitive in Formula 2 and Formula 3, often beating drivers who are currently on the Formula 1 grid, is simply focusing on ensuring he is the best of the NIO drivers. Currently he sits six points ahead of team-mate Sérgio Sette Câmara in the standings.
Despite the minimal advantage the Brit doesn't believe that tells the whole story as he underlined the fact he often has the better of the Brazilian, who he regards as a "bloody good driver".
He claimed: "In the situation I'm in I've just got to beat my team-mate and on paper I'm not outscoring him by that much. But if you look at qualifying I think it is 14-1, most practices, most races. Even if we're not in the points I'm 12th and he's somewhere behind me. That's no disrespect to him because he's a bloody good driver, but I think he's struggled to get to grips with how we do things as a team and hasn't performed as well as he'd hope. But you just get compared to your team-mate when you're a team struggling."
Watch the 2023 Hankook London E-Prix on Saturday 29 July & Sunday 30 July live on Channel 4 at 17:00 BST.
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