Marcus Ericsson says his Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team are operating and performing at a much higher level in 2018 compared to twelve months ago, and he is pleased with the progress being made by the Hinwil-based outfit.
The Swedish driver has scored points in the Bahrain and Austrian Grand Prix in 2018, whilst team-mate Charles Leclerc has scored in five races, and the duo have been increasingly involved in the fight amongst the midfield runners as the season has gone on.
Sauber has found itself with a stronger financial platform this year following its alliance with Alfa Romeo and continuation of its engine partnership with Scuderia Ferrari, and Ericsson is pleased with the way they have recovered from being the de facto backmarker team in 2017.
“It’s a massive difference,” Ericsson is quoted as saying by Crash.net. “I think just coming from the financial side first of all, now the financial platform is a lot stronger, and everything builds from there.
“And we’ve brought in some great people on the team, and people in the team have grown motivation with everything that’s going forward.
“Now we’re in a completely [different] world to 12 months ago and it’s great to see. I think it’s impressive to see the way we have developed as a team in 12 months and it’s a great reward for all the hard work being put into the team.”
Ericsson sees no reason why Sauber should slip back this season as they continue their development drive, although he knows there will be a time where focus firmly switches to the 2019 car.
“I don’t see a reason why we should be dropping back more than other teams in the midfield,” said Ericsson. “That’s been our way this year that we bring updates more or less every race, not big packages, but bits and pieces all the time to keep improving the car and as far as I understand that’s what we’re going to keep doing.
“Compared to the midfield, which we are fighting, we should be able to do the same development, and then at some point you switch focus more and more on next year.”
