Marcus Ericsson admitted he was expecting a tricky race around the Circuit de Monaco on Sunday and so it turned out to be, although he was able to finish just outside the points in eleventh.
The Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team driver was amongst those who were forced to manage his tyres around the principality, and he felt it was tricky to keep them in the right operating window.
“As expected, it was a tricky race for us,” said Ericsson. “It was good though, and I am happy with my result.
“The focus of the race was on tyre management. It was challenging to keep them working in the right window, and make sure to not use them too quickly.”
Ericsson felt both he and team-mate Charles Leclerc were compromised by being stuck behind Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda’s Brendon Hartley, but once the New Zealander was eliminated from the race after being hit by Leclerc, Ericsson was able to close the gap on Carlos Sainz Jr. ahead and only missed out on a point by eight-tenths of a second to the Renault Sport Formula One Team racer.
“It was tough to advance, as we were both stuck behind Brendon (Hartley) for the majority of the race,” said the Swede. “We lost a lot of time there.
“It was a good team effort overall, and there are a lot of positives. Next up is Montreal, which is a track that suits us much better. I look forward to that.”
