Marcus Ericsson’s first thoughts were of the terrorist attack in Stockholm in his homeland, but the Swede was able to advance to Q2 against all the odds for the Chinese Grand Prix.
Ericsson was helped by his Sauber F1 Team team-mate Antonio Giovinazzi crashing out in the closing stages that prevented some drivers, such as Romain Grosjean and the ailing Max Verstappen, from improving their time, but despite this he feels good about his own lap and will start fourteenth on the grid on Sunday.
In what was a busy day for everyone on Saturday following the non-event that was Friday practice at the Shanghai International Circuit, Ericsson completed twenty five laps during Saturday mornings final practice session, and from fourteenth on the grid is looking forward to the race.
“First of all, I went to the track with very mixed feelings today, after what happened yesterday in Stockholm – terrible news,” said Ericsson. “Regarding our performance, we should be satisfied with the qualifying result today.
“FP3 was a productive session with a busy schedule, focusing on qualifying and race preparation, after almost no running yesterday. I put in a good lap time in Q1, which again took me into Q2. P14 is an interesting starting place for the race.”
