Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team driver Marcus Ericsson fought back from twentieth place on the grid of the Japanese Grand Prix to finish a valiant twelfth.
After crashing out of qualifying in Q1 the Swede had an uphill battle ahead of him in the race, after some early battles with Kevin Magnussen, Stoffel Vandoorne and Sergey Sirotkin, he managed to find a way through in to twelfth place by mid-race and held on until the chequered flag.
“We knew that it would be a difficult race, but taking our starting position twentieth into consideration, finishing in twelfth is a result we can be satisfied with.
“We had a good pace and the car also felt quite good. I drove on the same set of tyres for the majority of the race, which required a lot of management from my side.”
While Ericsson was happy with his performance he was left to wonder what could have been if he had of started the race further up the grid.
“It is a bit of a shame not to have started the race from a better position, because points could have been possible.
“Nevertheless, it was a positive day, and I look forward to our next chance in Austin.”
Ericsson is currently tied with Lance Stroll for seventeenth on six points, while Sauber are hoping to leapfrog over Toro Rosso who are currently eighth in the constructors’ championship, just three points in front of the Swiss team.
