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Ericsson wants future sorted 'sooner rather than later'

Marcus Ericsson wants his future in F1 sorted "sooner rather than later" as he looks poised to remain at Sauber in 2017.

The Swede revealed he had been in talks with a number of teams about potential vacancies during September, but felt he is most likely to remain at Sauber for a third consecutive season. With no decision yet taken on Sauber's 2017 driver line-up - and with seats currently available at Williams, Force India, Renault, Haas and Manor for next season - when asked if he has a timeframe for deciding his future, Ericsson replied: “Not really, no.

"I hope to have it sorted sooner rather than later because it’s then easier to focus on the driving. I think the last couple of races have been strong for me and that’s helping our position.

"It feels like I have quite a good chance of staying here, but also there are still some spots in other teams that aren’t filled yet. I know my management is keeping contacts open but at the moment I think it’s most likely that I will stay here in Sauber."

Asked about Sauber's 2017 car - which the team has been able to focus on developing after opting to use 2016 Ferrari power units - Ericsson says he has been kept slightly in the dark while his future is uncertain.

“I haven’t seen much of it at all, to be honest. I think the team is pushing really hard on it, but because I haven’t signed yet maybe that’s why I haven’t been able to see anything of it really.”

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.