Signed to Williams as a development driver, Claire Williams believes Dan Ticktum can help the team develop their FW43 as he is “one of the best” simulator drivers.
Dropped by Red Bull last season after failing to produce the results they had expected of him, Ticktum wasn’t out in the cold for long, snapped by Williams.
The team signed him as a development driver.
Williams told Motorsport.com: “I am looking forward to working with him, and the team is as I know when we put him in our simulator the guys said he’s one of the best drivers they’ve ever seen.
“I think he’s got great talent, and I think it needs harnessing. We have experience doing that. He knows what’s expected of him and how he needs to behave.
“He’s one person in a team of 750 and we’ve always had the attitude at Williams that no one is more important than anyone else.
“Everyone has to roll their sleeves up and do the job in a way that is expected of them, but I think he knows and understands that.”
Ticktum, though, is a driver with history and it is not all good.
While he is a two-time winner of the prestigious Macau Grand Prix, he was banned from racing for two years for what was deemed “a disturbing and dangerous episode”.
Racing in MSA Formula in 2015, the Brit saw red at Silverstone and overtook cars under a Safety Car before deliberately crashing into a rival.
Williams believes Ticktum is a changed man.
“I think with the experiences that he’s had now, he’s matured a lot, and is willing to get his head down and just do the job that we’re asking him to do so,” she added.
“I think he will be one to watch: a great British talent that shouldn’t be lost in our sport for whatever reason.”
Follow us on Twitter @Planet_F1 and like our Facebook page.
Source: Read Full Article