Ticktum remains 'sour' after being dropped by Red Bull

Dan Ticktum has admitted to still being “sour” at Red Bull for how the team handled dropping him from their ranks, saying they never really had confidence he could succeed.

In 2018, Ticktum finished third in the championship in Formula 3 and retained his prestigious Macau Grand Prix title, subsequently showing Red Bull enough for them to put him into Super Formula.

However, after scoring just one point in three races, he lost his seat with Mugen and also the backing of Red Bull, who dropped him as a junior driver.

He has since signed a development deal with Williams and is competing in Formula 2, but he says the way the situation was handled by Red Bull leaves a bad taste in the mouth.

Ricciardo: 2021 rule delay won't affect contract negotiations, for any driverRead more

“There’s all sorts of speculation and the team saying, ‘He needs to get used to Japan, he needs to get used to the tracks there’, but at the end of the day it’s a track and a race car, you know?” the 20-year-old told Motorsport.com.

“It doesn’t matter whether it’s in Japan or on the moon.

“I didn’t feel like the team had a lot of confidence in me, let’s say that. But there we go. It is a bit strange for a team not to have confidence in a driver that Red Bull put in an F1 car.

“But it’s all done - I’ve learned a lot from it. People are going to ask, ‘Am I still sour about being dropped?’ And yeah, of course I am, but I’m in a very good position now.”

In 2015, Ticktum received a two-year ban from all motorsport competition after purposefully overtaking during a safety car period so he could crash into rival, Ricky Collard.

Related

More F1 news

Latest F1 news

F1 News Today: Lewis Hamilton puts blame on Ferrari, F1 champion blasts colleagues as 'morons'

• 5 minutes ago

Kimi Antonelli is being sued by former manager with links to iconic F1 team

• 46 minutes ago

Mercedes launch George Russell investigation after Hungary horror show

• 1 hour ago

Adrian Newey gives verdict on reuniting with Christian Horner after Aston Martin links

• 2 hours ago

F1 Hungarian Grand Prix 2026 results: Final classification after late penalties applied

• 3 hours ago

Aston Martin F1 owner Lawrence Stroll sends message to team after breakthrough weekend

• Yesterday 22:30