Ticktum brings Nio 333 win over Mahindra in Formula E teams' championship & stays for 2024! "Others may see me as a risk"

After a month-long battle, Nio 333 has prevailed over Mahindra Racing in the Formula E teams' standings. Ultimately, just one point made the difference between the two British-based teams. While relief is spreading at Nio 333 after the season, Mahindra is already looking ahead to next year.

For years, Nio 333 was the backmarker team of Formula E. Often defeated, the British-Chinese team fought at best for positions within the top 15, and points results were hardly realistic. The relief was all the greater when the team received confirmation on Sunday evening in London: Thanks to two top results from Dan Ticktum, the team moved past Mahindra Racing in the teams' standings. In the end, the score was 42-41 in favor of Nio 333 - ninth overall!

"For me personally, I can't ever get excited about ninth. But to see what it meant for the team was very special," Ticktum told e-Formula.news after the E-Prix. "It clearly means a lot to them, and I'm glad I could give that to the team as well. It's a nice dose of positivity (at the end) of what has been a pretty frustrating year. As the radio messages will display, I have found it frustrating at times."

Ticktum confirms Nio 333 contract for 2024 season

Ticktum also alludes, among other things, to a scene during the Jakarta E-Prix when he went on a minute-long rant about his powertrain package and race team. The outburst also made a mark on the driver market for Ticktum. "Others may see me as a risk or whatever, which is why I've not had offers from other teams. But I think my team know me very well and they know how frustrating it is. Because they themselves are also very frustrated by it. But I've gotta try and keep a lid on those things when I'm back next year," he confirms of his contract for 2024. Also with Nio 333? Ticktum: "Yes, also with Nio."

The frustration about the inefficiency is shared by Sergio Sette Camara. However, the Brazilian is relieved to have helped decide the contest with Mahindra in favor of Nio 333. "I wish it was with a safer margin," he tells e-Formula.news. "The disqualification yesterday was like a bucket of cold water. The way we see it, we were given the penalty unfairly, we lost a position and today, the team made the turnaround and we managed to beat Mahindra. So for many people it might not mean a lot, finishing ninth instead of tenth. But I think for the team, emotionally, it means a lot. It means we're making the steps in the right direction."

Mahindra "super disappointed," but already looking to the future

At Mahindra, on the other hand, a hangover mood is taking hold after the London finale. "For ten minutes I was super disappointed," team boss Frederic Bertrand told e-Formula.news. "But no more than that. We cannot be happy about P9. It's more sad for the guys (in the garage) because that was part of the target for the weekend. Today they (Nio 333) did a better job than us, yesterday we were better. That little point is making a big difference. But the real thing is that we beat them and many others next year."

For 2024, Bertrand is "realistically optimistic," as he says himself. "We have a lot of weaknesses and we know where we are weak. That helps to get some quick wins. We need time and that time we couldn't do during the season. Now we have that time for the next four, five months to be ready. In October, we will have the test and then let's see where we are for that test. The real goal is to be ready for that test. We will properly prepare for season ten and structure the team inbetween. So that we can transform optimism into reality. It will be quite a focussed summer."

The fall test in October will take place in Valencia, Spain, as usual. Scheduled for the week of Oct. 23-26, 2023, the testing time is important for teams and drivers to prepare for the 2024 season - and to make a plan to outperform their opponents in the teams' standings again.