Marcus Ericsson felt the Chinese Grand Prix was one of two phases, with the pace of his C37-Ferrari much better on the Medium compound Pirelli tyre than the Soft.
Seven days on from his first points in fifty races in Bahrain, the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team racer started right at the back of the field at the Shanghai International Circuit after a poor Qualifying and a penalty for a yellow flag offence but could do no better than sixteenth at the chequered flag on Sunday.
Ericsson gained some positions off the line but lost a couple by briefly running off track, with the Swede admitting the pace of the car was much better after the switch from the Soft to Medium tyre during his one and only pit stop on lap twenty-nine, something he hopes the team can look into and address heading into the next race in Azerbaijan at the end of the month.
“I had a good start today, but lost a few positions after I went slightly off-track in one of the turns,” said Ericsson. “Overall, the race had two phases.
“The first part was on soft tyres; I was struggling quite a bit as the balance did not feel great. After changing to the medium tyres, I caught up with the lower midfield and could keep up with their pace.
“Once we look at the data, we can start our preparations for the next race in Azerbaijan.”
