Ericsson banking on 'big upgrade' to move Sauber forward

Ericsson banking on upgrade package to move forward
©WRI2

Sauber's Marcus Ericsson is hoping that a big aerodynamic upgrade set for introduction in Hungary will help improve the Swiss outfit's performance.

The Hinwill-based team has been stagnant lately, although Pascal Wehrlein did bag a point in Azerbaijan, bring Sauber's tally to five points so far this season.

But ineffective previous updates of the C36 chassis coupled with an older-spec Ferrari engine have seen Sauber's pace progressively regress, a state of affairs which Ericsson hopes will reverse next weekend.

"I don't know exactly what the upgrade will be [but] it should be a good step," he told Motorsport.com.

"Hungary is a track where any downforce we can get is going to help you and is not that efficient for engines.

"So it could be a chance for us, if we get another step from the upgrade, we could be in the mix."

Ericsson considers Sauber's C36 as a good car, when the team succeeds in getting its set-up right.

"When we got the car working, like at Silverstone in the race, we could keep similar pace to the Haas cars, and [Stoffel] Vandoorne wasn't much faster," said the Swede.

"We are not too bad, when we get our car together.

"Hopefully in Hungary, where it's a bit less engine efficient, we can be a bit more efficient."

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