Dan Ticktum Targets Goodwood Record With Formula E Gen4

Dan Ticktum has admitted the prospect of chasing the Goodwood Festival of Speed single-seater record will be close as he drives Formula E's new Gen4 car up the iconic hillclimb this weekend.

Formula E has brought its latest Gen4 machine to Goodwood as part of its effort to showcase the championship's transformation since the Gen1 era. Ticktum has been entrusted with driving the car throughout the event, which began on Thursday and builds towards Sunday's timed shootout.

The main focus is whether Ticktum can beat Nick Heidfeld's single-seater record. The target stands at 41.6 seconds, set by Heidfeld in a 1999 McLaren MP4/13 F1 car, while the outright Goodwood record remains 39.08 seconds, set by Max Chilton in the all-electric McMurtry Speirling in 2021.

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Formula E has not publicly stated that it will attempt to break either Heidfeld's single-seater record or the outright Goodwood benchmark. However, the subject was already being discussed in the paddock at last weekend's Shanghai E-Prix and has remained a major talking point at Goodwood.

“It's the first question we're leading with, is it? The record?” Ticktum joked on Goodwood's official broadcast, before adding that the attempt would be “close”.

“I think it's going to be close, to be honest. Four-wheel drive is quite useful, though, especially up here. I'd never actually driven here. I just drove up the hill for the first time in a Cupra.”

The Gen4 car will be introduced in Formula E next season and will start the first two campaigns of the new era on grooved Bridgestone tyres. For Goodwood, however, the car has been fitted with slick tyres to better demonstrate its performance potential.

Technically, Gen4 features all-wheel drive, 815 bhp, a 0-60 mph time of 1.8 seconds and a top speed of 210 mph. That combination places traction, power delivery and acceleration out of the hillclimb's tight sections among the decisive performance factors.

Ticktum said he will build up gradually before Sunday's timed run. With limited hillclimb experience, he stressed that a progressive approach will be important, particularly as he does not expect to push fully to the limit on the early runs.

“Yeah, I mean, I've never done much hill-climb stuff, but I do know that you never push 100% in a hill climb, so I will certainly build up to it and chip away,” Ticktum explained.

“It's nice that I get a few proper runs before Sunday, but we'll assess the situation after the first couple of runs. If I'm within a second, I can probably push it a bit more. Yeah, but we'll see.”

Ticktum's Goodwood programme now serves as an early benchmark for Formula E's Gen4 car before it enters competition next season, with attention centred on whether the new electric package can approach or beat Heidfeld's single-seater record.