Marcus Ericsson is targeting a step forward in his F1 career, hoping to secure a drive in a more competitive team than Sauber.
The Swede is in his third year with the Swiss outfit but only has five top-ten finishes to his name, all achieved in his first year with Sauber.
While he says he enjoys a good relationship with the Hinwill-based squad, thanks in no small part to the Swedish backers which saved Sauber from extinction last year, Ericsson now wants more competitive machinery.
"I think I have a strong position in the team. I’ve been here for quite a few years now, so it’s a good environment for me," the 26-year-old told Motorsport.com.
"But I want, as a driver, to be in a more competitive car as soon as possible. And hopefully this year we will continue to make progress and be stronger.
"And then for me, I have no contract for next year, so I’m not sure what’s happening for me in the future."
Moving on to greener F1 pastures is obviously a difficult task for a driver persistently lingering at the back of the grid, a fact which isn't lost on Ericsson.
"It’s difficult to show what I can do when I’ve been in one of the slowest cars, sort of all throughout my F1 career. It’s difficult to show your potential, to impress the bigger teams with your abilities.
"But all I can do is keep doing the best I can and keep working hard and showing what I can do - and hopefully one day I will be in a team where I can really fight for top positions and wins."
Gaining an upper hand on his team mate Pascal Wehrlein would perhaps help the Swedish driver's cause, but a relative compare of the two men's performance and results does not clearly speak in Ericsson's favour.
"He [Wehrlein] is a very good driver," Ericsson conceded.
"I mean, I knew that before, that he was a very good driver. And I think he has shown that this year, especially in qualifying.
"So he has been really good in putting a good lap together when it matters in qualifying. That’s where he has generally been a bit stronger than me, whereas in the races I think we have been very, very closely matched.
"We had very close fights in the races. But for me, I think compared to him I can improve a bit on my one-lap pace in qualifying, to be a bit better there."
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