Dan Ticktum stood tall in Jakarta. Sixty races into his Formula E career, the Brit finally broke through fending off Edoardo Mortara to take his maiden win and hand CUPRA KIRO their first victory since Season 1.
And no this wasn’t a clean, dominant cruise. This was gritty. Messy. The kind of street fight where you survive more than you win. But Ticktum? He picked his moment. And he nailed it.
Dennis and de Vries Implode
Up front, the early laps looked composed. But it was all surface level calm. Jake Dennis led the pack, with Nick de Vries and Taylor Barnard tucked in behind. Everything simmered. Until it didn’t.
JeanÉric Vergne took too much risk into Turn 1 and smashed his front wing on Mitch Evans. Then Max Günther found the wall. The tension cracked wide open.
Attack Mode Mayhem
Attack modes were always going to shake things up. Barnard clipped the wall on his activation one small misjudgement, and that was his afternoon gone. Mortara, in contrast, played it perfectly. Quiet. Efficient. No wasted energy, no ego.
The Critical Collision
And then came the race’s tipping point. De Vries, on a power boost, lunged past Dennis down the main straight. They made contact into Turn 1. Dennis lost part of his front wing. Debris everywhere. The stewards weren’t impressed. A ten second penalty came for De Vries.
Dennis pitted. De Vries coasted to a halt later on. Just like that, both were out of the fight. Suddenly, the door was wide open.
Ticktum Holds, Mortara Hunts
Ticktum stepped through it. He’d already snuck ahead of Dennis during the second attack mode shuffle. After that, it was just about holding the lead through multiple Full Course Yellows, one caused by Jake Hughes’ breakdown, another by Vandoorne’s mystery failure.
Mortara chased. Hard. But Ticktum never blinked. He didn’t overdefend. He didn’t get flustered. Just drove it home.
Müller Delivers a Masterclass
Further back, Nico Müller delivered the kind of drive that gets remembered by data nerds and race engineers. Started 13th. Finished 3rd. Barely put a foot wrong. Da Costa, Cassidy, and Barnard filled out the top six, each picking their way through the wreckage.
Rowland’s Quiet Crisis
Oliver Rowland’s title charge stayed intact, but only just. He clashed with Günther and took a penalty no points. Wehrlein blanked too, so nothing lost. But Berlin is going to be nervy.
Voices from the Podium
After the flag, Ticktum was still absorbing it all:
“I’ve been in Formula E nearly four years now, but the whole time I’ve known this is what I can do. Now I’ve got a good car and I’m doing it. People forgot I was decent on the F1 ladder time to remind them.”
Mortara was blunt: “I had him before the second attack mode. Then the Safety Car came. Still I’ll take second.”
Müller? As cool as ever: “Today, we nailed it. Finally.”
Beyond the Racing: Jakarta’s Impact
But this weekend wasn’t just about trophies. Formula E brought its full sustainability playbook: 120 girls joined FIA Girls on Track.
€25,000 went to a Jakarta based climate project. 150kg of waste was cleared from a beach cleanup. And there were full on panel talks on cities, energy, and inclusion.
Eyes on Berlin
Also in town? CUPRA KIRO’s Bianca Bustamante prepping for her Berlin rookie test after being signed as devlelopment driver for the team. Nissan have also announced 2024 F1 Academy Champion Abbi Pulling as their newest sim and rookie driver.
Next up: Berlin. Doubleheader. Title on the line. Rowland can clinch it. But Porsche, Jaguar maybe even Ticktum now have reason to believe.
Jakarta? It was carnage. It was redemption. And for Ticktum, it was everything he’s been waiting for.