Breaking news

Formula 1

Ericsson: Sauber-Ferrari junior team talks my "main worry"

Marcus Ericsson says the "main worry" over his uncertain Formula 1 future concerns how deep a relationship Sauber decides to have with Ferrari in 2018.

Ben Anderson

Edited: Nov 24, 2017, 8:27 AM

Copy link

Share on Viber

Add as a preferred source

Marcus Ericsson, Sauber

Marcus Ericsson, Sauber C36

Marcus Ericsson, Sauber on the drivers parade

Marcus Ericsson, Sauber C36 and Pascal Wehrlein, Sauber C36

Marcus Ericsson, Sauber, in the press conference

Marcus Ericsson, Sauber C36

Marcus Ericsson, Sauber talks to the media

Marcus Ericsson, Sauber C36

Marcus Ericsson, Sauber

Marcus Ericsson, Sauber C36

Sauber is set to bolster its partnership with the Scuderia next season, taking a supply of current-spec F1 engines, after running year-old units this year, and potentially becoming an Alfa-Romeo-branded Fеrrari junior team.

Ferrari-backed Formula 2 champion Charles Leclerc is widely expected to graduate to F1 with Sauber next season, after taking part in free practice sessions with the team recently, but the identity of his 2018 teammate has yet to be determined.

Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne has floated the idea of turning Sauber into Ferrari's de facto junior team, by placing Ferrari third-driver Antonio Giovinazzi at Sauber alongside Leclerc.

That scenario would bring an end to Ericsson's three-year stint with the Swiss team, and leave Pascal Wehrlein on the sidelines too, should the Mercedes junior not secure a seat at Williams.

Ericsson, whose sponsors are understood to have invested heavily in Sauber over the past 18 months, believes he is the frontrunner to retain a seat at Sauber should Ferrari not strike a deal to place two drivers at the team, but is also concerned is F1 career could soon be over.

When asked by Motorsport.com why his Sauber future was taking so long to resolve, Ericsson replied: "From what I understand it's talks with Ferrari and how much of a relationship they're going to do with Ferrari and what that will include.

"I know Ferrari is pushing for getting two drivers in the team and that's the main worry for me at the moment, but that's not been decided yet.

"Otherwise I'm quite hopeful, or quite confident, that I'm going to be one of the drivers - unless Ferrari gets two drivers, obviously."

Staying in F1 "really crucial"

Ericsson admits he doesn't have an alternative option should he not remain with Sauber and says it is "really crucial" he doesn't drop off the grid next year, given the difficulty of getting back in after an absence.

"Obviously my management's keeping options open and they have contacts in different series, but all my focus has been on the driving and finishing this season strongly," Ericsson added.

"When I look to next year I see myself in F1; that's my goal.

"It feels a bit weird, because going into this last race of the season, if you don't have anything sorted for next year it's always a bit of a worry, but I still feel confident I will be on the grid next year.

"Since the summer break the pressure's really been on to show that I should be in one of the seats [and] I think the last three or four weekends have been really good for me.

"I've had some really good performances, some really good races, and been beating my teammate most of the time, so that's what I need to continue to do this weekend."

We want your opinion!

What would you like to see on Motorsport.com?

Take our 5 minute survey.

- The Motorsport.com Team

Read and post comments

Share Or Save This Story

Copy link

Share on Viber

Previous article Alonso launches eSports team

Next article Abu Dhabi GP: Thursday's press conference

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

View More & Comment

Latest news

FIA expects F1 races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to continue as planned

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

United States GP

1 h

FIA expects F1 races in Qatar and Abu Dhabi to continue as planned

TDS Racing doubles down on IMSA program with two-car LMP2 return

IMSA

IMSA IMSA 1 h

TDS Racing doubles down on IMSA program with two-car LMP2 return

Why Isack Hadjar doesn’t like F1 sprints anymore

Formula 1

F1 Formula 1

Singapore GP

1 h

Why Isack Hadjar doesn’t like F1 sprints anymore

Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen to race for JR Motorsports again in 2027

NASCAR O'Reilly

NOAP NASCAR O'Reilly

Phoenix II

2 h

Ross Chastain and Shane van Gisbergen to race for JR Motorsports again in 2027

Feature

Discover prime content

Why Oscar Piastri has struggled to show his best with this year's McLaren MCL40

Formula 1

By Jake Boxall-Legge

Why Oscar Piastri has struggled to show his best with this year's McLaren MCL40

How levelling the playing field isn’t antithetical to the principles of F1

Formula 1

By Pat Symonds

How levelling the playing field isn’t antithetical to the principles of F1

Lights, Camara, action: How Haas picked F1's latest rookie for 2027

Formula 1

Singapore GP

By Jake Boxall-Legge

Lights, Camara, action: How Haas picked F1's latest rookie for 2027

Employing team orders can simply be a matter of common sense

Formula 1

By Kevin Turner

Employing team orders can simply be a matter of common sense

Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.

From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.

You have 2 options:

Become a subscriber.
Disable your adblocker.

Subscribe now Already subscribed? Sign in here

Already disabled your adblocker?
Reload page

Manage Alerts