If anyone steps into Brendon Hartley’s seat at the end of this season, it will not be British hotshoe and Formula 1 hopeful Dan Ticktum.
Pundits were talking up his chances a few weeks back, but it seems they were ignoring one cold hard truth: Ticktum, who until then had been a credible contender to win the FIA Formula Three European Championship in its final year under current rules, simply cannot score enough Superlicence points to step up into F1.
Ticktum was then mentioned in speculation about a replacement for Santino Ferrucci, whose recent antics in pit and paddock got him fired from his F2 drive.
Red Bull has confirmed Dan Ticktum will not replace the banned Santino Ferrucci at Trident Racing in Formula 2, meaning he can’t gain enough points to step into Brendon’s shoes.
And a tenth overall this week puts Brendon in better form to retain a drive, especially as he gapped his team-mate by three positions.
Ferrucci is banned for the Hungary and Spa rounds of F2 after crashing into his team-mate Arjun Maini on the cool down lap after the Silverstone sprint race, and was dropped by his Trident team last week.
Ticktum apparently took Ferrucci’s difficulties as a sign he could pick up an F2 drive. Leave it to tough nut Helmut Marko to set him straight. Marko quashed the rumours and confirmed Ticktum, 19, is expected to focus on F3. When asked if Ticktum would race in F2 this season, Marko said: “No. He now has to deliver constant performances in F3. He will make the step to F1 only if he delivers a mature performance first.”
Ticktum is 13 points off the European F3 championship lead after four rounds, taking two wins with Motopark while struggling to get his car off the startline consistently. With his form tailing off, he has resorted to blaming his rivals for resorting to ‘pathetic mind games’. They’re only pathetic if they don’t work though, right?
Oh, and who’s currently top of the points table? None other than Kiwi Marcus Armstrong, in his rookie F3 year.
And what a season Marcus is having! Now he’s clear of the midfield madness and able to qualify up front he’s free to race for the title, his key rivals mostly from his own team.
He’s currently just one point clear of team-mate Guanyu Zhou, who has managed to stay out of the way of low flying Habsburgs and wheel-banging Ticktums. Third is another Armstrong team-mate, Ralf Aron, while fourth is Dan Tictum, maintaining his position in the top five thanks mainly to his strong early performances.
Yes, there are six races to go, including the daunting high speed curves of Spa (next up and over the coming weekend, live coverage via the official website includes timing and tv), but Marcus of all the current crop of Kiwis is the one uniquely equipped to deal with the pressure – and having the Ferrari Driver Academy masterminding his year with the massively accomplished Prema PowerTeam he’s equipped with all the tools he needs and a superbly set up car.
Picking up on Ross MacKay’s theme in a recent Talk Motorsport blog, any Kiwi company looking to bust into Europe could do far worse than putting their product logo on the side pods of Marcus’ car. A company with some good mass behind them – Fonterra, or Beef and Lamb. You know, one of those ones that really need some good profile and positioning and some good PR opportunities in Europe.
But back to F3 in its final year before it evolves into a new beast under Gerhard Berger’s schlauerplan (master plan). This is epic stuff, the racing is close and the supremely talented are putting their skills on show. These are the motor racing household names of tomorrow – half of them ex-Toyota Racing Series – and it’s something of a pity New Zealand’s terrestrial broadcasters couldn’t get motivated to secure the coverage rights. Still, it’s a small sacrifice getting up or staying up to watch it live thanks to the miracle of the interweb!
Comments