Red Bull struck with F1 regret as British star lands historic victory

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Red Bull struck with F1 regret as British star lands historic victory

Former junior driver Dan Ticktum won his maiden Formula E race this weekend

Kevin McKenna

Sunday 22 June 2025 08:59

Red Bull F1 bosses may well be wondering what might have been after watching one of their former young prospects secure a historic racing victory this weekend.

Dan Ticktum, a junior driver for the Milton Keynes-based outfit earlier in his career, was thrilled to secure his maiden win in Formula E at the Jakarta E-Prix on Saturday.

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The Brit managed to capitalise on a flurry of late drama which saw likely winner Jake Dennis fall away to hand Ticktum his first win on his 60th start in the series.

Edoardo Mortara came home in second ahead of Nico Mueller taking third to give the Andretti team some consolation, while ex-F1 racer Nyck de Vries failed to finish.

Dan Ticktum has won his maiden race in Formula E

Who is Dan Ticktum?

The London-born driver began his career in karting, before graduating to MSA Formula where he often went head-to-head with McLaren star Lando Norris and Colton Herta, who is tipped to join Cadillac in F1 next year.

His rise through the ranks took a severe hit in 2015, however, after being banned from motorsport for two years for intentionally crashing into a rival.

Widely regarded as one of the world's top prospects, he would go on to make his return to racing in a variety of series, and was named as a member of the Red Bull Junior Team in 2017.

But despite being tipped to replace Brandon Hartley at sister team Toro Rosso for the 2019 campaign, he was overlooked in favour of Daniil Kvyat, before both parties went their separate ways.

He has been a regular on the Formula E circuit ever since, with Saturday's result undoubtedly his crowning moment to date.

George Russell took a thinly veiled swipe at Ticktum earlier this month

Russell compares Brit to Verstappen

While Ticktum has always had talent, many believe his inability to make the grade in F1 has much to do with his somewhat aggressive driving style, which has been frequently criticised by pundits and fellow drivers alike.

Indeed, Mercedes star George Russell even compared him to Max Verstappen after the Dutchman appeared to intentionally collide with his title rival at this month's Spanish Grand Prix.

Those comments didn't go unnoticed by his compatriot, who took to social media in the aftermath to share his - perhaps tongue-in-cheek - delight at the comparison.

Red Bull have struggled to find a suitable No. 2 driver to Max Verstappen

Have Red Bull let one slip through the net?

Red Bull haven't had their problems to seek over the past 18 months, even with Max Verstappen still producing at the highest level on a regular basis.

It's his partner - or rather, partners - who have caused the biggest headache for team boss Christian Horner.

Sergio Perez was for all intents and purposes a reliable enough No. 2 until a dramatic drop-off in form last season led to his dismissal just months after signing a new contract.

His failure to pick up points was pivotal in Red Bull losing their constructors' crown to McLaren, who celebrated their first title since 1998.

Liam Lawson was handed Perez's seat going into this season after impressing during a stint at RB, but lasted just two races before being dropped in favour of Yuki Tsunoda.

But that hasn't quite worked out either, with the 25-year-old scoring just seven points in eight outings. Needless to say, Red Bull have already waved goodbye to their chances of wresting the championship title off McLaren this year.

And with questions lingering over the future of Verstappen beyond this season, it could get a whole lot worse before it gets better.

Who knows what Red Bull's driver lineup will look like in six months' time?

Either way, Ticktum won't be making any sort of triumphant return. That ship has sailed.

But based on how things have been going of late, there may well be just a tinge of regret in and around Red Bull HQ regarding the decision to cast the fiery character aside so quickly. And it's hard to shake the feeling that he would take a bit of pleasure in that notion too.

FIRST WIN IN FORMULA E 🙌@DanTicktum WINS in Jakarta! What a race for the @KiroRaceCo driver 🤩🤯#JakartaEPrix pic.twitter.com/KCDj1eUTUz
— Formula E (@FIAFormulaE) June 21, 2025