Challenging the F1 record? Formula E's Goodwood mission explained
Formula E never overtly communicated it was going for any particular records or objectives at the Goodwood Festival of Speed last weekend.
Yet, it was clear that beating Nick Heidfeld’s legendary 1999 effort of 41.6s (in McLaren's 1998 F1 car) was very much in their sights last weekend.
And Formula E was right to take that cautionary approach. Because the Gen4 is very much in the early development phase and its absolute potential is nowhere near fully tapped yet and won’t be until well into the first racing season in 2027. Ultimately, Ticktum came close to Heidfeld’s time, with a 42.4s best.
By the time Gen4 reaches Monaco next May, it will be quicker than F2 and potentially within eight or nine seconds or so of F1. When you weigh up the discrepancies in budget, and in particular aerodynamic development between F1 and Formula E, then that in itself is an impressive step.
The future beyond that is as exciting as it is relatively unknown for Formula E. Yet there is an element of certainty already coming via its original spark of genius. Alejandro Agag.
Last week Formula E founder, now chairman Agag, told CNN that “the fastest lap in Monaco, is 1m9 seconds. We're hoping to do 1m08 seconds. So, one second faster than Formula 1. It's enough for us to show that electric cars can beat that, and then I'm sure that Formula 1 will do 1m07s.
“Our target is to beat Formula 1 in Monaco as soon as possible,” he continued.
Agag has a track record of over-amplification and disregard for some key principles of reality. It’s partly how he’s made such a remarkable impact on motorsport with Formula E.
Agag is a showman. A charismatic driver of business. An inspirational visionary of sporting opportunity, he certainly is. A rational and pragmatic stable force that assesses absolute facts, he’s not.
Agag’s words to CNN are, whether people like them or not, very much a part of the Gen4 sales pitch to the world. They came without specifics or details on dates, of course. And they were designed to hit home hard that Formula E is on a steep trajectory of pace and technology that will ultimately be capable of getting really close to F1. But that won’t happen in Gen4.
What Formula E really needs to do is prick the bubble it’s been in since its birth in 2014, so that any hyperbole naturally ascends. The sporting and technical components of Formula E are sound and strong, but it has struggled to gain a genuine and true following beyond the multi-collated and multi-embellished fan and TV numbers it often boasts of.
Goodwood therefore, was rightly targeted as being a key part of Gen4’s communication to the world, and what better way than to get into a competitive pitch to grab attention with its phenomenal acceleration and power.
That left some asking if the new Gen4, with Dan Ticktum at the wheel, would have any chance of breaking Heidfeld’s previous record, or even getting close to the absurdly fast McMurty Spierling and its astonishing 2022 record of 39.08s.
What happened at Goodwood?
The Race has learned that Ticktum’s preparation for his Goodwood exploits in the development Gen4 car included a secret test at the Ales-Cevennes track in the south of France last month that he told The Race it was “very useful and I got up to speed fairly quickly” and was “another reason why I've been chosen to do Goodwood because I'm quite good at sort of finding the limit quickly".
On Saturday afternoon, Ticktum set a 43.87s best after losing time on the dusty surface in the second sector. That effort was 0.8s off the Romain Dumas-driven Ford Super Mustang Mach-E, which peaked at a best of 42.99s.
Ticktum then put in a 42.2s run in the ‘untimed’ run on Sunday lunchtime before the shoot-out on Sunday afternoon, where he went toe-to-toe with the ludicrously powerful Ford Super Mustang Mach-E driven by Le Mans, Pikes Peak and Goodwood legend, Roman Dumas.
Ultimately, the Mach-E went half a second faster than the Gen4 but has had vastly more development than the Formula E machine.
When probed by The Race last Friday on whether a crack at the record could be on, Ticktum was forthright, saying, “Well, we're about three seconds off,” he said.
“I think I lost about a second in the practice shootout today at Turn 2, because there's a lot of dust on the track, and I got a s*** exit up the hill, and up the straight. So, I'd say that's certainly half a second to a second.
“Then we've run the same set of tyres for all the runs. There'll be more time in a new set, and the track just being generally more rubbed in a bit cleaner. I think it's going to be close.”
Why was Ticktum in the car?
Ticktum loves power and he loves a challenge.
So, Goodwood was a welcome respite from a difficult Formula E season in which he languishes 16th in the standings, 30 points in arrears of team-mate Pepe Marti.
“There are a lot of electric cars, like Pikes Peak stuff that's here, the Super Van that has 2000 horsepower, but you know it weighs a lot more than this (the Gen4),” Ticktum told The Race.
“So, I think the fact that this is still relatively light, ok yes, it's heavy for a single seater, but it's still light, about 1000 kilos, so with the power we're running, I think 940, 950 horsepower, it's very quick.
“I've driven some fast cars, and I'm very rarely surprised by something, but it is just so fast.”
Ticktum ran the Gen4 car in France on the specially made Bridgestone slicks. He’s been bowled over by the Japanese manufacturers’ commitment and engineering support for the Goodwood runs.
“It does make a big difference [having slicks],” added Ticktum.
“Obviously there's rumours for Gen 4 Evo that we might move to slicks. Bridgestone have been fantastic. I mean, they've been great to work.
“They were very good at the (Ales) test, and they developed a few compounds to try, and we picked what we thought would be best for Goodwood. It's great.”
Should Ticktum have been Formula E’s Gen4 poster boy for the weekend?
Why not. He’s got more than a bit of box in the office. And whether loved or loathed, he’s a noise generator of such renown that even his own zeitgeist out-accelerates itself, almost by the week.
Like Formula E in a way with Gen4, Ticktum is at a crossroads. Now or never, it's time everyone grew up a bit.
Additional reporting: Anthony Rowlinson
