Breaking news
Formula 1
Ericsson says Sauber has made a breakthrough
Marcus Ericsson says a breakthrough in the way his Sauber Formula 1 team manages its tyres is the key reason behind the upturn in form.
Lawrence Barretto
Edited: Oct 31, 2017, 5:28 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
The Swiss team, running a year-old Ferrari engine, fell off the back off the pack after the summer break, but has turned a corner in the last three races.
In Mexico, Ericsson ran in the points for nearly half of the race before losing track position when the virtual safety car was deployed and then ultimately retired with what the team described "as technical issue around the rear inboard suspension".
"The tyres this year are more conservative, less peaky and do not degrade so much, but there is still a small window where they work the best and give the best available grip," he told Motorsport.com.
"My feeling is we've been wrong there for most of the year, we haven't been working on it in the best place.
"Now, we have found some stuff the last couple of weekends which has helped us a lot to improve that and it's all about the temperature and controlling the temperature of the tyres.
"We have worked the tyres a bit differently, a bit different temperature windows and that seems to be helping us quite a lot. It's been a big breakthrough for us."
Ericsson also felt reducing the weight of his car combined with the unlocking of more performance from its engine has contributed to the better pace.
"From my side, we've got 7kg out of the car since Malaysia," he said. "That's quite a lot of laptime every lap for me, two or three tenths depending on track.
"Also on the engine side, the Ferrari guys have managed to get a bit more out of it. We still have the same engine but they've been able to squeeze a bit more out of it."
Ericsson felt a point, which would have been the first of his season, was possible in Mexico.
"The start of the race was really good and the first stint was really competitive," he said. "To run inside the top 10 for the first 30 laps was really good. We timed the pitstop really well.
"Then the virtual safety car came at the worst possible moment for us and ruins our race.
"We lost out to both McLarens and [Felipe] Massa. Without that, I think we would have kept position and been fighting with Fernando [Alonso] for P10 towards the end of the race.
"It's a shame, but that's how it is sometimes. It felt like we did everything right today. But the luck was not on our side."
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
Read also :
Share Or Save This Story
Copy link
Share on Viber
Previous article Strategy Report: Strange happenings in Mexico explained
Next article Verstappen form will keep me motivated, says Hamilton
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
Lawrence Barretto
Sirotkin, Stroll to have two race engineers each
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sirotkin, Stroll to have two race engineers each
Hamilton "sacrifice" saved Mercedes an hour of testing
Formula 1
Formula 1
Hamilton "sacrifice" saved Mercedes an hour of testing
Kubica regrets being "too honest" about driving limitations
Formula 1
Formula 1
Kubica regrets being "too honest" about driving limitations
More from
Marcus Ericsson
Honda crowned 2026 IndyCar manufacturers' champions
IndyCar
IndyCar
Milwaukee Race 2
Honda crowned 2026 IndyCar manufacturers' champions
How Marcus Ericsson turned a 'Big reset' into a masterclass on the Streets of Markham
IndyCar
IndyCar
Markham
How Marcus Ericsson turned a 'Big reset' into a masterclass on the Streets of Markham
Official race results: 2026 IndyCar at Markham
IndyCar
IndyCar
Markham
Official race results: 2026 IndyCar at Markham
More from
Sauber
Sebastian Vettel reveals why BMW didn't want him – but Red Bull did
Formula 1
Formula 1
Sebastian Vettel reveals why BMW didn't want him – but Red Bull did
You Ask The Questions: Robert Kubica
Formula 1
You Ask The Questions: Robert Kubica
Lewis Hamilton 'almost signed for Sauber' before F1 debut, says Peter Sauber
Formula 1
Formula 1
Barcelona-Catalunya Pre-Season Testing
Lewis Hamilton 'almost signed for Sauber' before F1 debut, says Peter Sauber
Latest news
"FIA Rating pushes drivers like me into retirement" - Sebastien Bourdais
WEC
WEC WEC
Bahrain
45 min
"FIA Rating pushes drivers like me into retirement" - Sebastien Bourdais
Nico Rosberg compares Ferrari’s clashes to his own Mercedes F1 rivalry: “The instructions are not clear enough”
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Mexican GP
1 h
Nico Rosberg compares Ferrari’s clashes to his own Mercedes F1 rivalry: “The instructions are not clear enough”
Carlos Sainz recalls Charles Leclerc battles: “We always managed to find a solution”
Formula 1
F1 Formula 1
Sao Paulo GP
1 h
Carlos Sainz recalls Charles Leclerc battles: “We always managed to find a solution”
New WRC constructor offers update on 2027 car development
WRC
WRC WRC
Rally Saudi Arabia
2 h
New WRC constructor offers update on 2027 car development
Feature
Discover prime content
How F1’s rules got to be so complex
Formula 1
By Pat Symonds
How F1’s rules got to be so complex
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1960s
Formula 1
By Kevin Turner
Top 10 F1 cars of the 1960s
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
Subscribe