The End for Dan Ticktum?
Does that mean he's not coming on then?
In case you missed it, Williams have opted to release development driver Dan Ticktum with immediate effect. Whilst the quietly resurgent Formula 1 team haven't yet given a reason for the termination, there are already conflicting reasons as to why this happened, depending on who you believe. But does this latest development mean that Ticktum's F1 future is now over? Let's take a look.
The path to Formula 1 has never been a straightforward one for Ticktum. At Silverstone in 2015, he overtook ten cars under a safety car period in the Formula Ford Championship, crashing into fellow driver Ricky Collard in the process and taking them both out. This resulted in Ticktum initially receiving a two year ban from racing, then reduced to one year with a year suspended. Already, the path to F1 wasn't going to plan.
In 2017, he made a respectable comeback by winning the coveted Macau Grand Prix. His past antics appeared to be water under the bridge and he seemed to be taking his second chance in motorsport seriously. He then continued his comeback with a series of wins in European Formula 3.
But then, Ticktum once again didn't help himself as he accused Mick Schumacher and PREMA of cheating in the European Formula 3 Championship, causing a scathing backlash online. Never a great thing to do, especially when the accusation is unfounded. It just makes you look like a sore loser.
Unable to then progress into Formula 2, he joined Super Formula instead and won the Macau Grand Prix for a second time. In order to get the remaining points he needed for an F1 licence, Ticktum then joined Asian Formula 3. But anger issues, including storming off the podium in Thailand and pulling out of the final round in Sepang, and some poor results prevented him from winning the Championship and thus failing to get the necessary points for his Super Licence.
Christian Horner"he sometimes engages mouth before brain."
As a member of the Red Bull junior programme, he joined Formula 2 for the final round of the 2018 season. He also raced in the Formula Regional European Championship. However due to better drivers coming up through the ranks and poor results from Ticktum, Red Bull dropped him. In 2019, Williams signed him as a development driver and he proceeded to finish 11th overall in the 2020 Formula 2 season where he raced for DAMS. He switched teams for 2021, joining Carlin where he currently sits in 4th place with one win to his name in Monaco.
Whilst his progress in 2021 looks good, Ticktum's comments and behaviour off track leave a lot to be desired and suggest that he hasn't learned from his past mistakes. Regardless of the reasons behind why he and Williams parted ways so abruptly, it's never wise to bad mouth one of their Formula 1 drivers, in this case Nicholas Latifi, especially a few days before that driver scores valuable points for the team.
Ticktum himself says that the reason he left Williams was because they couldn't offer him an F1 seat for the 2022 season. But given the fact that there is a significant portion of the Formula 2 season left, there's no guarantee that Ticktum would stay in the top four in the Driver's Standings or that he would have enough super licence points to even be considered for an F1 seat. If anything, by leaving this driver academy, he's made things even more difficult for himself. But then again, this is not uncommon for Ticktum.
There's no denying that Ticktum has some skill behind the wheel. He's shown improvement over time but he's not setting the world of motorsport alight with his talent either. Moreover, being a part of a Driver Academy is pretty important these days if you hope to find a path into Formula 1. Failing that, you would need a significant financial backing behind you, like Roy Nissany and Lance Stroll have. Ticktum now has neither and has made it easier for those still in the Williams Driver Academy to get into F1.
It seems highly unlikely for Ticktum to arrive in Formula 1 anytime soon then, if at all. He's in his second full season of Formula 2 and staying into a third season usually isn't a great sign if you want to progress into Formula 1 and often acts as a last chance saloon. Where will he go then? Formula E? Always a possibility and the closest thing he can possibly drive in if he wants to stay near Formula 1. But that driver market doesn't guarantee him a seat either. Outside of that, places to go look slim on the ground unless he switches tack to something like DTM or Touring Cars.
At the end of the day, whilst he's shown promise on occasion and has some decent accolades to his name, Ticktum has never really shone as a driver in the ways that other F2 graduates like Lando Norris, George Russell and Mick Schumacher have. As a result, he's never been on the top of anyone's driver lists either. With the likes of Ilott, Piastri, Zhou, Hauger and Chadwick all coming up through the ranks, the less likely it will be for Ticktum to find a place in F1 as each of these drivers are simply proving themselves to be better both on and off track. Plus, with each year that now passes, it will also increase in difficulty to get a shot at an F1 seat.
It's very possible that the closest way Ticktum will get to being in an F1 car in the future is by driving on the latest version of the Codemasters F1 video game.
What do you think about Dan Ticktum's future? Let me know in the comments below.
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Comments (10)
I love how Latifi got P7 right after he said "Latifi is poo"
There's perfect timing and then there's perfect timing 😅
Ticktum does have some talent but he hides it pretty well and it is usually further obscured by his off track antics, maybe he should have a go at touring cars - or hairdressing..
Bit harsh on touring cars but I take your point 😅
Bit harsh on hairdressers too but as long as he shuffles off somewhere I don't mind - I suspect he wouldn't be missed by many..
He said (pretty bleakly) in one of his streams recently that that’s basically his F1 dream over… it depends on what sponsors want and where the money goes in deciding where he ends up, apparently. ‘I didn’t play the game well enough,’ which is probably fair. It’s a shame but I never fully considered him as an F1 driver, there’s just too much talent in the sport itself and in junior categories. He’d do well in something like IndyCar though and probably FE too, even though that would be a little sad.
As he said he didn't play the game well enough and really didn't help himself a lot of the time with his actions on and off track. Will be surprised if he gets another chance (forget what number we're on at this point) and would also be a bit...
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