Ericsson targeting improvement on last year for Sauber

Marcus Ericsson is hoping for a more competitive year at Sauber in 2018 and hopes that the Swiss-based team can compete in the midfield.

Sauber endured their worst ever season in Formula One last year, scoring only five points as they finished 10th and last in the constructors’ championship.

However, despite this, Swedish driver Ericsson is hopeful that his car will allow him and new team-mate Charles Leclerc to compete higher up the field.

Ericsson told the media: “I still believe we are in the midfield, I think we are in the lower part of the midfield.

“It’s difficult to tell from testing but I think if we can get the balance right, get the tyres to work correctly in Melbourne, we should be there and fighting in the midfield and not being like last year and being off the midfield, that’s the target and let’s hope that’s right.

“The motivation is really high because we know that we have all the tools this year, we have a new car but also a new engine, a strong engine, and that was always a problem last year.”

Ericsson is targeting Haas as a team Sauber can beat this year, saying: “I think they looked really fast from what I’ve seen but let’s see.

“It’s a good benchmark for us because they have the same engine, we need to look at them and see where we are compared to them.

“They are a very good benchmark for us and we’d like to beat them.”