Formula E Gen4 misses Goodwood single-seater record by 0.86 seconds

Ticktum puts Formula E’s Gen4 within striking distance

Dan Ticktum came within 0.86 seconds of breaking Formula 1’s long-standing record for the fastest single-seater up the Goodwood hill, delivering a striking performance in Formula E’s still-developing Gen4 car.

Ticktum had tested the car only once before arriving at Goodwood, but improved on every run. In Sunday’s final, the 27-year-old posted a 42.46-second time to finish second. Romain Dumas won the Shoot-Out in a heavily modified Ford Mustang Mach-E, recording 41.98 seconds.

Formula E’s wider Gen4 Goodwood showcase underlined the significance of the weekend: this was not a finished race car operating in ideal conditions, but a development machine being judged against established hill-climb benchmarks.

Conditions amplify the achievement

The attempt was made more difficult by a dusty, slippery and dirty track surface. Hot weather had left the surrounding grass extremely dry, allowing debris to blow onto the course and be dragged across it by other cars. Those conditions worked against Ticktum as he chased the record in the final run.

Even so, the performance offered an early indication of Gen4’s potential. Formula E expects the finished car to be quicker, making the near miss particularly notable given the limited preparation and challenging surface.

“We could have waited. Instead, we did what racers do. We brought a development car to one of the world’s greatest motorsport events and put it to the test,” said Formula E CEO Jeff Dodds.

Dodds added that seeing a car still months from its race debut, driven by someone competing at Goodwood for the first time, come within half a second of victory was an extraordinary achievement. Formula E, he said, would be back.