Marcus Ericsson ended his Formula 1 career in a less than ideal way as he was forced to retire from the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Sunday.
The Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team driver started from twelfth on the grid and had worked his way in to the top-ten but was hit with a mechanical issue on lap 26, forcing him out of the race.
“The race did not end as I would have liked it to, and it is disappointing to have had to retire from it.” said Ericsson.
“We started on the hardest compound and I struggled with the balance a bit in the first stint. Just a few laps before I had to retire the car started feeling better and the pace was good.
“It would have been great to continue like that and score some more points today, but I am still happy with our performance.
“It has been a long year and I am very thankful for the hard work put in by the team. We should all be very proud of this season and the incredible progress we made.
“It has been my best season so far in Formula One and I will always remember it.”
Ericsson leaves Formula 1 with 97 races under his belt, eleven of those races ended with a top-ten result. A highest finish coming at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix when he took eighth place in his first race for Sauber after his debut year with the Caterham team.
The Swede heads stateside now as he begins the next chapter in his career with the Schmidt Peterson Motorsports squad ahead of the 2019 IndyCar Series, which will kick-off with the season-opening Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on Sunday, March 10.
