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Dan Ticktum believes Formula E is very competitive with one of the strongest grids amongst all motorsport championships. The NIO333 driver feels unlike F1, most of the drivers in Formula E are paid and are not paying their way to a seat.
Asked about the grid and competition in Formula E by Sportskeeda, Ticktum explained:
“In terms of consistency, across the grid, it is the strongest, I think - in the world. In F1, you have a couple of superstars like, you know, Verstappen, I think. Most drivers will admit he's better than anyone. But I think any driver, I think could or should have been in F1 or should have stayed in F1 for longer. Another thing is that this is the only championship in which all the drivers are paid - which is very rare. We're all professionals being paid so the level is just incredibly high like when you have a bad session and you make a small mistake, in some championships you might be 5 places behind but here you're 15 places behind because everyone is so close. So it's incredibly competitive, yeah.”
The British driver believes that most drivers on the Formula E grid are either former F1 drivers or drivers who should have made it to F1. In a similar opinion to his colleagues Mitch Evans, Pascal Wehrlein, and Stoffel Vandoorne, who spoke to Sportskeeda, Ticktum feels the electric series has one of the most competitive grids across all championships.
The Briton described the competitiveness in the race as being close enough for every tenth of a second to make a difference. Similar to his Belgian counterpart who complained about drivers paying for a seat in F1, Ticktum worded his opinion carefully, suggesting it was rare in a motorsport series where all the drivers were paid. F1 has always had its share of ‘pay drivers’ who made their way into the sport due to good financial backing and resources that paid for their drive. It has often resulted in sparking the ‘pay driver’ versus ‘paid driver’ debate and questioning the merits of many who entered the sport.
Dan Ticktum believes the future of the Formula E championship looks good
Dan Ticktum believes the Formula E championship is headed in the right direction with its new cars and new venues on the calendar. The NIO333 driver feels the series has a growing fan base, which will be boosted by new destinations.
Asked about the future of the Formula E championship, Ticktum said:
“I think it is very good. I think, obviously, the more new places we go to it makes the championship more accessible to other countries in terms of the fans, they can... Many, many reasons to be honest. The Gen3 cars are great as well. I have enjoyed driving that. More power is always good.”
The all-electric series, which is in its ninth season, has had sellout crowds in all four rounds of the calendar so far. The championship had a successful season opener in Mexico with a sellout crowd of approximately 40,000 people and in India, it claims to have had over 25,000 spectators. Formula E CEO Jamie Reigle, who spoke to Sportskeeda in Hyderabad, was also optimistic about the success of the event in India.
