Sauber
Marcus Ericsson
Championship points: 5 (17th place)
Ahead in qualifying: 3 out of 12
Ahead in the race: 5 out of 11, 1 double DNF
Best finish: 9th (in two races)
Charles Leclerc
Championship points: 13 (15th place)
Ahead in qualifying: 9 out of 12
Ahead in the race: 6 out of 11, 1 double DNF
Best finish: 6th (in one race)
Analysis: Leclerc on top
Ask anyone about the situation at Sauber and you'll hear how reigning Formula 2 champion Charles Leclerc has swept in and shown true star potential. That's all very true, but it hides some subtler details. For sure, he's made it through to the final round of qualifying in three of the last five Grand Prix weekends, and finished in the points on five occasions so far in 2018. But he's also a rookie with a lot to learn especially in wet weather, so it's not surprising that there has also been the odd stumble. The plaudits aimed at the Monegasque from the likes of Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton have somewhat obscured the fact that Marcus Ericsson has actually been doing relatively well, too, now that he's finally got some decent hardware to play with. It's only in qualifying that the Swede is significantly behind his youthful team mate, and it will be interesting to see if that continues for the remainder of 2018.
