Marcus Ericsson was left downbeat after qualifying at the back of the field for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after struggling to with the balance of his Sauber F1 Team machine through the session.
The Swede had been struggling with his C35-Ferrari during free practice and revealed that he was having issues particularly with the Ultrasoft Pirelli tyres, which left it almost impossible to attack during Saturday’s qualifying at the Yas Marina Circuit.
Ericsson however still believes he can turn his weekend around on Sunday during the race, with the long run pace of his Sauber appearing to be on a much more competitive level in comparison to the qualifying runs.
“A disappointing qualifying for me,” said Ericsson. “The car has been difficult to drive throughout the weekend, especially on the Ultrasoft tyres. We were already struggling to find a good feel on them yesterday in the practice sessions.
“We knew that it would not be an easy qualifying. On my last lap in Q1 it was a shame that I pushed a bit over the limit and locked up the tyres into Turn 17. I lost all my lap time there.
“When it comes to tomorrow, the long-run pace was looking encouraging compared to the short-runs, so I am still optimistic that we can be stronger in the race.”
