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Marcus Ericsson has revealed that he is now feeling worried about his future in Formula 1. The Swede does not have a contract in place with Sauber for 2018, as the Swiss team evaluates the drivers available to them.
Sauber signed a multi-year deal with Ferrari earlier this year to run with Ferrari engines from 2018 onwards. A part of the deal was to have at least one junior driver from the Maranello outfit in Sauber's line-up, with Charles Leclerc favourite for the seat.
Ericsson backers also finance the Sauber team, however Ericsson realises that his seat is not safe with Antonio Giovinazzi also waiting in the wings. Giovinazzi raced for Sauber earlier this year in Australia and China, replacing the injured Pascal Wehrlein.
"[I’m] a bit nervous, it feels a bit weird, going to the last race of the season not having anything sorted for next year," Ericsson said. "It is a bit of a worry then but I still feel confident I will be on the grid next year but in this business you can never be sure before you have a contract signed.
"I think from what I understand it’s [the delay] talks with Ferrari and how much collaboration, and what they will include. For me that’s what’s been taking the time; Ferrari has bene pushing to get two drivers in the team and I mean that’s the main worry for me at the moment, but that’s not decided yet. Otherwise I’m quite hopeful/confident I will be one of the drivers unless Ferrari gets two drivers obviously."
Fergal Walsh
Grand Prix of Belgium
G. Zhou
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Replies (2)
Login to replycalle.itw
Posts: 8,527
He sorta should be. He just isnt F1 material. I love having a Swede in F1, but he isnt the one we wanted or needed. He may be a nice guy and all, but at the end of the day he is just a rich boy with rich parents and a huge corporate sponsor behind him. Stick him against Rosenqvist or Björn Wirdheim (too old for F1 though), and he'd get absolutely pounded.
mbmwe36
Posts: 533
Ericsson is one of those guys where I just don't understand his motivation. He's been in F1 for 3 years, without making any real progress, first with Caterham, and the last couple of seasons with Sauber. Granted, the Sauber might be slightly more competitive next year, but not by much. His big break in F1 isn't going to happen, he's 27, and have yet to really show anything.
Why not move to a class where he can be competitive? Maybe WEC, FE or something else? To me this resembles a football player signing with a team where his skill set is not quite adequate, but is happy to sit on the bench, instead of going down a level and be competitive.