Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson endured a testing opening race ofthe season, retiring mid-way through the Australian Grand Prix due to a terminal tyre issue.
The Swede, who out-qualified his teammate on Saturday, seemed to go missing up until the red flag when he joined a long list of drivers whose races were hindered by the stoppage. To compound his problems, Ericsson received a drive-through penalty for an infringement just before the restart.
“It was not a good day. When the race was interrupted, I had an issue with one tyre warmer on the pit lane. It could not be removed as quickly as usual, so I got a drive-through penalty for that.”
The 25 year-old’s race went from bad to worse, as a tyre malfunction forced him into retirement leaving 16 of his peers to take the chequered flag.
“After the race resumed, I felt that something was wrong with the left rear tyre, so I went back to the garage. Sometimes these things can happen.”
The performance of his Sauber compatriot, Felipe Nasr, could offer little comfort to Ericsson underlining his team’s lack of pace. In spite of a difficult weekend, the former GP2 race winner was optimistic looking ahead to the Bahrain Grand Prix in two weeks time.
“We will look into it to be in a better shape for the next race weekend in Bahrain.”
