With his race pace matching his one-lap speed in Monaco, momentum is with Ticktum, and he believes that Jakarta holds the possibility of more success.
“This weekend, specifically, this track is not particularly energy biased which means the disparity between efficiency and powertrains is not as big. So theoretically, this is quite a good track for us to score some more good points. In terms of the layout, I would say provisionally, it's quite good for us in terms of one lap pace, which has obviously been strong throughout the season. So if I qualify well and hold position in the early part of the race, I think we've got a good chance to get some good points.”
Ticktum’s optimism has furthered with his belief that the Jakarta track may reward high qualifying positions and suit NIO's requirements for a good race finish.
“I think the way the races are panning out with everyone saving lots of energy at the start, if I can hold on in those early laps almost up till more or less halfway, then the energy targets are quite high towards the end. And it makes it much harder for people to overtake.
With the races this year here being 36 and 38 laps, they're obviously trying to make a bit of a difference there. And from what we can see, if you save in either of them quite early on, the targets go pretty high. So I think there might be some more jostling for position early on, and people not focused quite so much on just trying to sit in the tow.”
The heat in Jakarta has been a huge topic this week ahead of both races, and Ticktum is cautious of how the weather will affect the racing on track.
“A lot of street circuits are quite stop-start, but here there's a lot of combined corners. And I mean, the track temperature yesterday got as high as 66 degrees, which is about the hottest I've ever seen in my career,” he admitted.
“We haven't had any issues with tire overheating or degradation or anything this year. But I mean, this is such an anomaly. potentially managing the tyre might be a factor in this race.”
Whatever happens in Jakarta this weekend, the future looks bright for Ticktum whose pace this season has impressed many in the paddock and beyond. Having raced for NIO 333 since the start of Season 8, Ticktum is excited about more progress with the team.
“At the moment, I'm pretty happy where I am,” he confirmed.
“I think for next year, I don't think there's a huge amount of development that can be done within the rules. Everything Is quite strict. But I think for Season 11, you're allowed to make some changes and I think we've got some pretty exciting things lined up so you know, if I can keep proving myself as a key asset in the team, I'll obviously be able to negotiate better contracts and yeah, hopefully bring the team forwards.
We've got some really talented people who have been there for a while and some new young ones. And it'd be quite cool to help bring the team up to, I think, where those people deserve.”