Marcus Ericsson believes that he's having one of the best seasons of his Formula 1 career to date in 2018.
In his fifth season in the sport, a much-improved Sauber is enabling the 27-year-old Swede to finally show what he's really able to do when at the wheel of a decent car.
He's finished in the points on three occasions - in Bahrain, Austria and Germany - and has been holding his own against much-fancied rookie team mate Charles Leclerc.
"I feel this year I have been really showing a good level in my driving and I feel like I’m driving at my best," Ericsson told Crash.net.
"I think I have developed as a driver over the years,” he added. “It’s been difficult to show that because the lack of performance I’ve had in the last few seasons."
Ericsson's first year in F1 was curtailed when the Caterham team went bust. He moved to Sauber in 2015 and recorded five top ten finishes, but the subsequent seasons were a struggle as the Swiss squad also hit near-terminal financial problems.
This year things have been looking up thanks to Sauber's new tie-up with Ferrari through its Alfa Romeo marque.
The last race before the summer shutdown wasn't one of Ericsson's better races of the season. He qualified in 14th but finished in 15th - although both were still better than Leclerc was able to manage at the Hungaroring.
However, even though the Monegasque underwhelmed in Hungary, the 20-year-old has still made it through to the final round of qualifying on three occasions - something that Ericsson himself has yet to do this season.
"I still feel there is more to improve, especially on Saturday’s," he acknowledged. "I need to find a way to improve my qualifying performances because then I think my races will be even better.
"I think it’s a combination of things," he said when asked what he needed to work on.
"One is the way the car feels on low fuel over one lap, I’m struggling a bit there with the feeling. Especially with the rear of the car being a bit edgy, I’m struggling with that.
"I think it’s also a confidence thing," he continued. "When you have a bad form in qualifying it comes into your confidence and you have to work really hard to get out of it.
"I keep working on it and I’m not hiding it, it is one of the points where I need to improve. I think that’s important and I will make sure I turn it around.”
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