Marcus Ericsson says Sauber is now his best option for 2017 as the driver market has remained relatively stable over recent weeks.
The Swede is in his second season at Sauber and confirmed in Singapore he has been in talks with a number of teams over potential vacancies for next season. However, with Sergio Perez staying at Force India and Lance Stroll expected to replace Felipe Massa at Williams, Ericsson believes the best seat available for next season is the one he currently occupies.
After an encouraging race in Malaysia, when asked if the progress at Sauber makes the team a more attractive option for next year, Ericsson told F1i: "Of course, yeah.
"I’ve been here for one and a half years now. We started off strong one and a half years ago but we’ve been standing still for the most part since then because of the financial problems there have been in the team. Now finally the team is growing up again. The atmosphere in the team is completely different compared to a couple of months ago so it’s definitely a lot more attractive now than two months ago.”
Asked if Sauber is his most likely destination, Ericsson confirmed: “Yeah, looking at the market it’s likely that this is my best option at the moment.
"But until anything is signed you never know, but I think performances like I did in Malaysia is helping my case as well of course to get the chance to stay.”
Acknowledging the team has to want to retain him, Ericsson added: “I think it’s a combination, of course, but like I said if I do more weekends like Malaysia I think I have a good chance of staying.”
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