The Briton has endured a difficult 2024 campaign so far as ERT has struggled for energy efficiency against rival teams, with Ticktum expecting more of the same on Formula E’s first visit to the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli this weekend.
But the chaotic nature of the Misano E-Prix, with multiple changes of position every lap as drivers tried to save energy in the slipstream, allowed both Ticktum and team-mate Sergio Sette Camara to implement a drastic strategy.
“I’m surprised other teams didn’t try and do what we did,” said Ticktum, who finished sixth on the road before being promoted to fifth as Jean-Eric Vergne ahead was handed a five-second penalty for a collision.
“Me and Sergio hung at the back, lifting 30 metres earlier on every straight and the concertina effect just brought us straight back up to them. That simple really.
“We made a couple of changes in terms of systems in the car which I think did make a difference slightly in terms of how much efficiency we can get from our powertrain.
“Strategy was good, I drove well, overtook well, it was just one of those races that came together.
“We’re not going to finish fifth in a conventional race so there is obviously a bit of luck involved but we got the luck and all the bits we could control, we controlled well.
“I had 10 minutes of feeling what it would be like to be in a Porsche. It’s nice to actually lift later than other people, that’s a pretty rare occasion for us.”
Ticktum believes the result will be difficult to replicate in the second Misano E-Prix, due to be held on Sunday, as other teams will be wise to ERTs strategy.
The race is also due to be two laps shorter than Saturday’s contest, meaning less energy saving will be required in the opening laps, negating the need to drastically save as much.
“Other teams will be a bit wiser, I don’t think it will be as powerful, I don’t think the peloton duration will be quite as long,” added Ticktum. “We’ll try and do something similar.”
Sette Camara was provisionally classified seventh, but the Brazilian was slapped with a 50-second post-race penalty in lieu of a drive-through for overpower usage.
Despite losing out on his third points finish of the season, Sette Camara believes the race became something of a lottery.
“It’s a very powertrain-oriented track, we looked at it and thought this is not made for our car but on the flip side we know from Portland [last year] it can be so crazy,” he said.
“It’s almost like a half strategy, half lottery and car performance is almost not that important.”
