Breaking news
IndyCar
Ericsson: Winning IndyCar race in 2019 is "realistic"
Ex-Formula 1 driver Marcus Ericsson believes winning a race in his rookie IndyCar season is a realistic goal due to the strength of the Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports team and his compatibility with teammate James Hinchcliffe.
David Malsher-Lopez
Published: Jan 21, 2019, 7:44 PM
Copy link
Share on Viber
Ericsson, who raced for Sauber in the last four seasons of his five-year F1 career, has completed just two days of IndyCar testing so far, both at Sebring, but says he’s learning with every lap in the #7 Arrow SPM-Honda.
He told Motorsport.com: “My second test was very good, building on the experience I got in December. It was mostly about going through different setups again, to try a lot of different things before we go to St. Pete.
“I’m trying to build up a reference about what each change does to the car and its handling balance. That’s the basic idea – for me to have a reference in my head and also for the team to have a reference for how I react to the setup changes, and what I tend to like and not like. We went through a lot of different things.
“And of course there’s the driving, the basics. Every lap I’m learning more about an IndyCar, because it’s not an easy car to learn. It’s tough to get your head around it and know how to use it in the best possible way.
“But in the last one-and-a-half hours I was really starting to get into the groove, and we had a really good end to the test. I left there with a really good feeling.”
Ericsson echoed Hinchcliffe’s sentiments regarding their surprisingly similar feedback and believes it’s going to be a significant aid to the team as it pushes to turn Arrow Schmidt Peterson into one of the elite IndyCar teams.
“I think it was a very positive surprise that we both give feedback that’s similar and what we want from the car is very similar,” said Ericsson. “It’s always something you wonder about before you’re teammates, because it’s always a big help to the drivers and the team in general if you’re pushing in the same direction.
“That’s going to be great as we go forward into the season because practice sessions are so short. We can try different things and if James finds something that works for him, I know it will probably work for me and the same the other way round. That will speed up the process of creating good setups.”
Ericsson, who scored the first of his three Formula 2 (then called GP2) wins in his rookie campaign, says he is aiming to emulate that feat in IndyCar.
“Winning a race is the goal for sure; it has to be,” he remarked. “I have huge respect for the top guys in this series who have been here a long time, and have experience racing on these types of tracks in this type of car. So I know it will be a big challenge for me.
“But I have a great team behind me and with Arrow stepping up their involvement, that will help the team make another step, so I really feel we have that possibility to win.
“Anyway, I think you always have to aim high in order to achieve something and I’ve set that personal goal – to win a race this year and fight as much as I can up front. It’s a tough target but it’s achievable, I think.”
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 Chilton gets second IndyCar season with Carlin
Next article Harvey to run 10-race IndyCar program with MSR
Top Comments
There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?
View More & Comment
More from
David Malsher-Lopez
Alex Zanardi: The man whose name is a synonym for “hero”
IndyCar
IndyCar
Alex Zanardi: The man whose name is a synonym for “hero”
Remembering Michele Alboreto: F1 ace, Le Mans winner and a good man
Formula 1
Formula 1
Remembering Michele Alboreto: F1 ace, Le Mans winner and a good man
IMSA Laguna Seca: Ganassi Cadillac holds off Porsche for victory
IMSA
IMSA
Laguna Seca
IMSA Laguna Seca: Ganassi Cadillac holds off Porsche for victory
More from
James Hinchcliffe
James Hinchcliffe's wild journey to a top 10 in NASCAR debut
NASCAR Truck
NASCAR Truck
Grand Prix of St. Petersburg
James Hinchcliffe's wild journey to a top 10 in NASCAR debut
Can Isack Hadjar succeed alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull? James Hinchcliffe weighs in
Formula 1
Formula 1
Barcelona-Catalunya Pre-Season Testing
Can Isack Hadjar succeed alongside Max Verstappen at Red Bull? James Hinchcliffe weighs in
F1 TV's James Hinchcliffe has been doing this job longer than you think
Formula 1
Formula 1
F1 TV's James Hinchcliffe has been doing this job longer than you think
More from
Arrow McLaren
Colton Herta backs Mexico IndyCar race following Pato O’Ward promoter callout
IndyCar
IndyCar
Colton Herta backs Mexico IndyCar race following Pato O’Ward promoter callout
Free agent Nolan Siegel ‘not done with IndyCar dream yet’ as he targets 2027 seat
IndyCar
IndyCar
Free agent Nolan Siegel ‘not done with IndyCar dream yet’ as he targets 2027 seat
Arrow McLaren signs multi-year engine extension with Chevrolet
IndyCar
IndyCar
Arrow McLaren signs multi-year engine extension with Chevrolet
Latest news
Kyle Larson, Cliff Daniels and the Hendrick 5 are who we say they are
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
59 min
Kyle Larson, Cliff Daniels and the Hendrick 5 are who we say they are
Final NASCAR Cup points standings after 2026 Homestead finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
5 h
Final NASCAR Cup points standings after 2026 Homestead finale
Official race results: NASCAR Cup Homestead season finale
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
5 h
Official race results: NASCAR Cup Homestead season finale
Ryan Blaney wins Homestead NASCAR Cup finale as Kyle Larson claims 2026 title
NASCAR Cup
NAS NASCAR Cup
Homestead-Miami
5 h
Ryan Blaney wins Homestead NASCAR Cup finale as Kyle Larson claims 2026 title
Feature
Discover prime content
How Spanish engineering and Alex Palou brought IndyCar to Barcelona
Feature
IndyCar
Feature
IndyCar
By Joey Barnes
How Spanish engineering and Alex Palou brought IndyCar to Barcelona
Inside AJ Foyt Racing’s transition: Hauger’s arrival, Ferrucci’s future, and the Pierson waiting game
Feature
IndyCar
Feature
IndyCar
By Joey Barnes
Inside AJ Foyt Racing’s transition: Hauger’s arrival, Ferrucci’s future, and the Pierson waiting game
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
IndyCar
By Joey Barnes
You Ask The Questions: David Malukas
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