Ericsson 'very likely' to stay at Sauber, eyes deal by Abu Dhabi

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Marcus Ericsson says he is "very likely" to remain with Sauber in 2017 and hopes to sign a new deal with the team ahead of next weekend's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Sauber is one of two teams with seats available for next season, with Manor also yet to confirm either of its drivers for 2017. Following the confirmation of line-ups at Force India, Renault and Haas ahead of the Brazilian Grand Prix, Ericsson says he now expects to remain at Sauber for a third consecutive season.

“I think I’ll still be here next year, let’s see." Ericsson told F1i. "Nothing is done yet but that’s what it looks like now, especially after last week with what happened. It’s likely, but before it’s done I need to wait until it’s done, let’s put it that way. But it is very likely I would say.”

Asked if he hopes his future is confirmed before Abu Dhabi, Ericsson replied: “Yeah, I hope so.”

Despite Felipe Nasr picking up Sauber's first points of the season in Brazil, Esteban Gutierrez has also been linked with a seat at the team and was pictured in talks with Monisha Kaltenborn at Interlagos.

While Ericsson could end up fighting his current team-mate for one of the Sauber seats, he insists he was pleased to see Nasr score the points that moved the team ahead of Manor in the constructors' championship.

“It’s just fantastic for the team. Felipe did an exceptional job in the race. I’m really, really happy for all the people here, they’ve been working extremely hard all year. It’s not been an easy one. Especially the second half of the year we’ve made steps forward all the time and improved and it’s been really good. To get those points is fantastic for everyone, so I’m really, really happy for everyone.”

"It’s a team sport and as a team that’s what we’ve been aiming for the whole year. Of course I wanted it to be me, it’s easy to understand like that, but I’m a team player. Felipe did an exceptional job in Brazil and I’m really happy for him and for the team.”

And Ericsson says the result motivates him to do well in the final race next weekend having crashed out in Brazil.

“No, I thought Mexico was close enough and Brazil was another chance. Of course it’s a big relief for the whole team, we will be a bit more relaxed in Abu Dhabi, but I am still very determined to do a very good job there because I don’t want to end the season like this.”

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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.