Dan Ticktum and Sergio Sette Camara look set to remain Formula E team-mates at NIO 333 next season after team principal Alex Hui insinuated that he would like to keep consistency in the improving team for 2024.
Ticktum has a contract for 2024 while Sette Camara is expected to also stay on after a season that has seen the Chinese-owned, British-based squad accrue its best points tally for five seasons.
Entering its third campaign under the NIO 333 banner, the team scored a best position of fifth with Sette Camara in Hyderabad in February – and has also had Ticktum claim two sixth places in Cape Town and Monaco.
The first Gen3 NIO 333 has been much more competitive than its previous iterations in the second phase of the Gen2 period, Ticktum peaking with a second-row start for the first race of the Berlin E-Prix weekend in April.
The British driver even briefly led that race, evidencing the strong one-lap pace of the car -which comes under the NIO 333 manufacturer banner, which in turn is derived from a collection of key technology providers including the specialist EV technology company Integral Powertrain and gearbox specialist Hewland.
Speaking to The Race at the London E-Prix yesterday, Hui said that his strong preference was to again run with Ticktum and Sette Camara, saying that his 2024 line-up “will be announced officially soon, but I think very likely copy and paste is our intention for stability next year”.
“Sergio has struggled a little bit in a few races, for the race [trim],” he added.
“We are doing a lot of work with him, he’s working really hard, and we’re seeing improvement.”
In the bigger picture of keeping continuity within the NIO 333 squad, Hui said that he and the team needed “to be realistic”.
“We’re not going to attract a championship-winning driver in the moment, even if you want to pay them the money they want, they’re not going to come to our team at this point.
“Maybe we will become a more attractive option for some high-profile drivers in two or three years later, hopefully.”
He specifically earmarked season 11 – 2025 – “as a good test” for the team’s progress and therefore its attractiveness to drivers on the market.
“At the moment, you can easily change to another driver if one is left out, losing a drive somewhere else. If he is not the first choice for all the other teams [but] you obviously think he is better than the ones you have.
“I’m not a big fan of changing a relationship.”
NIO 333 did hold negotiations with Daniil Kvyat’s representative Nicolas Todt in recent weeks after the ex-Toro Rosso and Red Bull Formula 1 driver tested for the team in both Berlin and Rome.
Although Hui would not allude to how close a possible deal might have been, he did say that Kvyat’s Lamborghini LMDh programme was a consideration and “not that favourable really for 2024”.
“Obviously, we’ve got Daniil Kvyat who tested in rookie tests, and he also tested in Rome, and he can even bring his experience, he could be a good option and [it would] give him an ability to learn, but there’s no guarantee [he will be an upgrade].
“I think we should be patient.”
