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Ericsson wants changes as Leclerc pressure builds
Sauber's Marcus Ericsson says he will go in a different set-up direction for the French Grand Prix after teammate Charles Leclerc comprehensively outshone him once again in Canada.
Charles Bradley
Edited: Jun 21, 2018, 10:46 AM
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Leclerc recorded his third point-scoring finish of the season in Canada, as well as his fourth consecutive Q2 appearance.
Ericsson says a lack of confidence in his qualifying set-up is restricting his potential, and he's ready to make major changes at Paul Ricard this weekend.
When asked if he felt the pressure building from Leclerc's performances, Ericsson replied: "He's done a very good job and I've not been able to do the same.
"Of course the pressure is building up then; that's normal in Formula 1, nothing strange about that. But I am convinced I can turn it around.
"I've already had some good chats with my guys about what we need to do. We're going to try a lot of things for Paul Ricard. We're open minded and will try different things to find a way for me to improve.
"Obviously what we're doing is working very good for Charles, but for me I don't really seem to find the confidence with the way we have the car at the moment. So we need to maybe go a bit different to get me up there in qualy, in the races I'm normally quite good.
"It seems that with the softer compounds on one lap I just don't get the feeling that I need to get the maximum out of the car. So maybe it's a case for, in qualifying, we need to have a different setup for me to make me comfortable, especially on tracks with the softer compounds.
"It's things we need to look at, analyse and understand so we can make a step – that would be the key."
Sirotkin "destroyed" Montreal race
Ericsson finished 15th in Canada, and blames Williams's Sergey Sirotkin for ruining his chances of a good result in the opening stint.
"It felt like our car was quite good in free air but, even with this track, it's difficult to overtake with these cars," he said. "I really was stuck behind the Williams at the beginning, which really destroyed my race.
"If I could have kept up with the group ahead, our race could've played out really well, because I could manage my tyres right until the end, getting faster as the fuel went [down]. I really think I could have had a good result there, but Sirotkin was just too slow.
"But if you qualify higher up, then you won't get stuck behind slower cars. For me, that's the main focus. When the midfield is this close, we really need to find a way for me to get it right in qualifying."
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