Ericsson keen to further improve qualifying form

Sauber’s Marcus Ericsson says he has been working “quite a lot” on his qualifying performance but feels there is still room for improvement in that area ahead of the second half of the season.

The Swede has seen rookie team-mate Felipe Nasr outqualify him six times out of 10 this year, though the F1 sophomore was the faster on Saturday afternoon over the past two race weekends.

“As a driver I have been focusing quite a lot lately on improving my qualifying performance, because I thought it was a bit weak at the beginning of the year,” said Ericsson.

“I changed some things in my preparations to improve it, and I am seeing positive results. I have been stronger in qualifying lately, but this can still be improved.”

After a dismal and pointless 2014 campaign, Sauber started off the year strongly with a double points finish in Melbourne’s season-opener. Although the Swiss outfit has been able to score again since then, the Hinwill-based squad has gradually slipped down the pecking order, falling from fourth to eighth in the Constructors’ race.

Ericsson, who has already been confirmed at Sauber for 2016, remains confident his team can recapture its early-season form thanks to the power unit upgrade it will receive from Ferrari in Belgium, as well as the aerodynamic evolutions it will bring to its C34 a couple of races later.

“I am looking forward to the second half of the season. It is encouraging to have updates coming in Spa-Francorchamps and Singapore.

“With that being said, our objective is to be back on a level from which we are able to fight for points.

“If that happens, we have to wait and see how it goes. We are going to work hard to extract the maximum out of our updates.”

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