How Ticktum silenced the critics to claim maiden Formula E victory

Dan Ticktum is quite the controversial figure in motorsport. Known for his sweary radio outbursts, saying exactly what he thinks and his two-year racing ban a decade ago, the 26-year-old is also fast. Very fast. And on Saturday, in the sweltering Jakarta heat, he claimed his maiden Formula E victory after a slow-starting race transformed into a chaotic battle up front with multiple incidents.  

The win ends a four year wait for Ticktum, with the last taste of champagne on the top step coming from his Formula 2 days. Now, the British ‘bad boy’ has found success at Kiro, a team he’s been loyal to since joining the championship in 2022, but that has recently been transformed from ‘zero to hero’.  

Saturday’s victory is a significant milestone moment for the squad, after multiple rebrands failed to bring big results and replicate its glory days when it helped Nelson Piquet Jr be crowned the inaugural Formula E champion in 2025. Now known as Kiro, the team has received millions in investment, signed a powertrain deal with a Porsche unit that won two drivers’ titles, brought in CUPRA as a title sponsor and had partnerships with the likes of Marvel and Mr Beast in just the last few months.  

“The first three years were pretty horrendous,” Ticktum stated, reflecting on the win in Indonesia. “I’ve stuck with the team and the team has stuck by me after I’ve maybe shot myself in the foot a few times and made it difficult for them to keep me, but they did. There’s been some very strong supporters in the background, Alex Hui [team principal] Russell O’Hagan [chief operating officer] and others have really been a big support and kept me around.  

“I knew I could do this for them. I’m just very proud that I’ve been able to deliver this today, and start to consistently deliver points and good results for the team. I sort of brought the team up and they’ve arguably brought me up as well, but it’s just been a nice thing to be a part of.”

After a two year absence from the calendar, the all-electric championship returned to Jakarta this weekend with the Indonesian heat and humidity making for challenging conditions around the fast and flowing circuit. Despite Stellantis’ powertrains dominating proceedings during both free practice sessions, it was Jake Dennis who managed his and Andretti’s first pole of the season thanks to Porsche power, with Ticktum starting fifth.

Race winner Dan Ticktum, Kiro Race Co

Photo by: Andrew Ferraro / LAT Images via Getty Images

Once the race began, Dennis was able to hold on to the front and by half distance – lap 19 of 38 – was still leading with Mahindra’s Nyck de Vries behind in second. For de Vries, a great start saw him jump a place, but the grubby and dusty circuit – made worse by overnight rain – resulted in difficulty overtaking as drivers compared it to ‘driving in the wet’.  

Dennis and his Porsche powertrain looked inevitable, having previously been successful in Indonesia with two front row starts and two podiums during 2023 – his title-winning year.  

Opting for Attack Mode at the halfway point, both Dennis and de Vries darted through the activation zones but were split by the Jaguar of Nick Cassidy who slotted into third. After taking his first Attack prior, Edoardo Mortara moved into the lead but had just moments of the 50kW boost left. Once this had expired, Dennis seized his opportunity to pass the Mahindra on the start-finish straight ahead of lap 21 with Mortara also letting team-mate de Vries slip back into second.  

After agreeing on ‘Plan A’ with several cars with Attack Mode behind, Dennis picked up the pace but de Vries was still nipping at his heels. Selecting a four minute duration for his first Attack Mode, compared to Dennis’ two minutes, the 2021 Formula E champion tried his best to pass for the lead.

Two laps later, and on his first attempt at snatching first place, de Vries pulled ahead but moved across into Dennis’ path which demolished half of the Andretti front wing. Debris was scattered across the start-finish straight, and any chance of a victory for both was over. A safety car was later deployed, and in more ways than one the damage had been done.

De Vries was slapped with a 10s penalty for his part in the collision, and later Dennis tumbled down the order after an issue that was still being investigated following the chequered flag.

This left Mortara to inherit the lead, but a poorly-timed Attack Mode on lap 30 proved costly. Just as he drove through the loops, yellow flags were waved after the Maserati MSG Racing of Jake Hughes came to a standstill. Ticktum had moved ahead, making use of his Attack, and was now in second as green flag racing resumed.

However, no sooner had things cleaned up, Hughes’ team-mate Stoffel Vandoorne suffered a high-speed shunt into the barriers at Turn 7, bringing out the yellows once again. For Mortara, his second and final Attack was made redundant with the racing being brought under full course yellow conditions.

With four laps remaining, it was Ticktum ahead with Mortara chasing him behind. But, despite being slightly above on energy, the mud off the racing line made a move for the win close to impossible so Ticktum was able to bring the Kiro home for victory.

Although many expected an outburst of ‘I told you so’ from Ticktum, after always being confident in his abilities and that with the right machinery he would be winning races, he was instead very subdued and mature with his celebrations.

“A lot of people have noticed that I haven’t been quite as euphoric getting out the car,” said Ticktum, who is now fifth in the championship and 92 points behind leader Oliver Rowland who came 10th in Jakarta.

“That’s because there’s a lot of background difficulties that I’ve dealt with in the past few years in this sport. There’s political stuff on the way up to F1 and maybe some times where I didn’t help myself too much, but overall it’s been an inner feeling of proving a lot of people wrong and shutting a lot of ignorant people up.

“I’m very happy inside, very proud of the team, for what they’ve achieved and the rate of improvement that we’ve gone through this season. We struggled at the beginning, and once you have a win, and I’m on I think 80 points now, I’m gonna be looking at the championship table thinking, ‘I wish I was able to score some points at the start of the year’. 

“I think what the team has done this year is pretty remarkable: that is the word I’ve been using and I think it’s accurate. It’s been a very tough year. It’s not just for me, but for them as well. 

“Obviously, new investors onboard allowed us to do the deal with Porsche, and they have been very collaborative and supportive of other partners with CUPRA as well. Everyone’s come together and we’re putting a strong car together now on a consistent basis.”