After an encouraging start to the 2018 Australian Grand Prix, Marcus Ericsson was left disappointed when his hydraulics failed on lap six.
The Swede had qualified seventeenth for the newly rebranded Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team. Despite lacking downforce compared to his rivals, Ericsson said the car felt good before he was forced to retire.
“It was a disappointing race for me after the good job done during the race weekend,” said Ericsson.
“I had a solid start and the car felt really good – really strong and I was ready for the fight.
“Unfortunately, on lap six I had a hydraulic issue on my car and I had to retire from the race. Now, the team will analyse all the data.”
Ericsson and Sauber were expected to be at the back of Formula 1’s 2018 grid, but both he and rookie team-mate Charles Leclerc out-qualified Sergey Sirotkin and Pierre Gasly in Australia.
Now, Ericsson suggests that Sauber are well within the competitive mid-field battle.
“We were in the fight and this is positive so all I can do is to look forward to Bahrain.”
