Marcus Ericsson out-qualified Sauber F1 Team team-mate Felipe Nasr in qualifying for the Canadian Grand Prix on Saturday, but both drivers were well down the order, qualifying nineteenth and twentieth for Sunday’s 70-lap race.
Ericsson felt there was more time to be found but was out on track when the conditions were at their trickiest, with drops of rain making improvements on time difficult, meaning the Swede was out-qualified by the Manor of Pascal Wehrlein.
“It was a tough qualifying,” said Ericsson. “My first run was ok. For the second run we went out a bit later than the other teams. When I was out on track, the rain started to fall a bit more towards the end of the lap, so it was more and more slippery. It was not the easiest session.
“Regarding tomorrow, I think the unstable weather conditions could mix things up during the race. As we start from the back of the field, that could give us some chances.”
Team-mate Nasr was a further second adrift in twentieth, and also struggled with grip in the tricky conditions, with the Brazilian feeling he never got a completely representative lap time on the board.
“It was a tricky qualifying,” said Nasr. “In general I struggled a lot with the grip, even compared to the FP3 morning session.
“I never managed to get everything together in qualifying. I think I went out a bit later than the others. In the end I was not able to improve on the second run on fresh tyres due to the light rain.
“For the race, I believe the weather will play a huge role. We have to remain positive for tomorrow and see what opportunities might come up for us.”
