In his first outing in modern Formula 1 machinery, Dan Ticktum says the biggest lesson came from F1’s complex steering wheel procedures.
Ticktum, who races in Japan’s Super Formula for 2019, completed 135-laps for Red Bull Racing on the second and final day of the 2019 Bahrain test. The nineteen year-old completed the fourth fastest time of the day and points to some of the differences between Formula 1 and the lower formula he’s used to.
“I learned a lot today and my first time in a modern F1 car was a big step” said Ticktum. “I think the biggest thing was learning the procedures. There’s a lot of settings to use, a lot to do on the steering wheel, even on a push lap, which isn’t the case in the junior formula. That was quite a lot to take in at the start – but I got used to it pretty quickly.
“It was also interesting having a garage full of people. It brings home that there’s a massive responsibility on the driver to deliver not just for himself and his engineers but for a whole Team.”
A member of Red Bull’s young driver programme, Ticktum believes the test was useful for Red Bull Racing.
“I think we gathered some really good data today, which is obviously the most important part of the test. We did some long runs and I had a good opportunity to gain an understanding of how these tyres work.
“All in all, I’d say the test went well today.”
