Keep calm and carry Ticktum.
It’s not a trot-out strapline that will earn millions on irritating mugs or tea towels, but Cupra Kiro boss Alex Hui thinks it was a valuable piece of advice that has opened up a box of delights for both driver and team going forward.
The advice first came after Monaco back in early May when Ticktum and the team made key mistakes that ended a run of practice and qualifying form that should have been exploited with at least a podium if not a win in the first Saturday encounter.
The rough and readiness of Ticktum and Cupra Kiro’s efforts that day were mirrored by Ticktum’s amusing but beer-infused ramblings in the evening. Something had to change, and not even two months on, they certainly have.
Part of the triggering process for that was Hui’s simple advice for his charge.
“Keep calm, whatever happens.”
In the context of Dan Ticktum, a funny thing happened. He listened.
It wasn’t all Hui’s advice. Ticktum has been working closely with physical and mental optimisation coach Gerry Convy. At Le Mans earlier this month, where Convy also works with the TF Sport squad, an off-the-record conversation took place regarding Ticktum. It was illuminating in the sense that it reinforced a lot of the positivity that Ticktum has around his professional life right now.
Back to Hui and his theories.
“In Monaco, we didn't really capitalise,” he tells The Race.
“But Dan was really quick, and he matured himself with a big step in Tokyo and I think he’s learning fast. I had a long conversation with him after Monaco saying, ‘we now have a good car’ and ‘we both need to mature as a team and you as a driver.’
“I asked him one thing before the start of Tokyo. I said, ‘keep calm whatever happens.’ And now every weekend I see him, I remember one thing (and repeat) 'keep calm whatever happens’ and that hopefully is what is in his head."
It's true. When Ticktum put in two of the season's, if not the championship's, greatest ever two sectors in Tokyo in the qualifying final against Oliver Rowland, it looked like he was going to capture one of the greatest poles recently seen.
Some laughed at this writer when it was likened to Max Verstappen’s jaw-dropping lap at Jeddah in 2021, but it was really that good. And the outcome was the same, he overcooked it, tagged the wall and lost the accolade.
But the hysterics didn’t come. Just a sigh and a few f-bombs, but these didn’t have the same vitriolic flourish. This was self-derogatory and quite in keeping with a mistake within the different astral plane he was in for that lap. It was alright, it was natural.
That’s the difference now with Ticktum. He is learning to compartmentalise more, and it will be to his and his team’s benefit. But be warned, he’ll still be capable of some spice, especially when it comes to handing out ‘justice’ to those who criticised his ways.
“I always question in my head how much I should filter what I say,” says Ticktum.
“I've had a lot of doubt and a lot of hate from people over the years and people with short-term memory issues forgetting that I won a fair few things on my way up the ladder and I think the first three seasons of Formula E were very, very tough.
“It was difficult to remain motivated, but I mean this season is pretty much as good as I could have hoped for. We definitely struggled at the start, hit the ground running to adapt with all the new systems and the new powertrain, but the team has done a remarkable job, especially since Miami."
Not only has Ticktum found a newer, more refined voice, he’s also still Dan Ticktum. Not always on message, but true to his own identity. Would the following have been uttered from him even a year ago?
“I think the rate of improvement has been very, very good. Even this weekend, it was kind of pointless because the track was just so different all the time so we had to make some educated guesses with the systems, the balance and we seem to be getting it right pretty much all the time at the moment," he said.
“I’m very, very proud of the team. Very appreciative of the opportunity with the new investors to put the deal together with Porsche and Cupra and just very proud of the team, to be honest. It's a special, special feeling.”
Additionally, he has got much more respect now from his peers too. Even the older drivers are starting to acknowledge his level and his new found composure.
What does it all mean for him and his team, presuming they can bat off increased interest in their driver from rivals?
It means that they have a driver capable of winning again this season, yes. But more than that, it has one that, with added feeling for the car and in a frozen homologation cycle for the next season, can push on and with a bit of rub of the green and with consistency of approach, become a real title contender in 2026.
