Ericsson Climbs IndyCar Ladder While Straddling Formula 1

Marcus Ericsson of Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports. © [Andy Clary / Spacesuit Media]

by Allan Brewer

It’s tough to be in two places at one time, but Marcus Ericsson at Schmidt Peterson Motorsports has managed it well so far this year as he keeps one foot in a Sauber/Alfa Romeo Formula 1 seat as a reserve driver and another (on this side of the pond) as James Hinchcliffe’s teammate at IndyCar’s SPM.

As long as the Swede continues to make advances as great as this past weekend at Barber Motorsports Park, he is content with the grueling travel he makes for both jobs. “It was a great race for us at Barber,” he said last night after finishing seventh in the Honda IndyCar Grand Prix of Alabama.

“It’s a really cool track,” he said. “First time here for me, obviously, but really enjoying it; it’s a lot of fun to drive.”

Though he qualified disappointingly, in P20 at the start, Ericsson quickly ran through the field and ended at seventh place when the checkered flag came out. “I’m really, really happy with my race,” he said. “We got the strategy perfect and it was really nice to finally get the result we wanted. It’s so nice to finally bring it home and not get that bad luck like the last two rounds.”

“I think like St. Pete and COTA, we’ve shown how strong we are in the races. Going from an obviously disappointing qualifying starting from P20 going all the way up to P7, I think that shows the potential we have and the whole package that we’ve got.”

“It’s really positive and really happy for the Arrow guys – they did a great job again this weekend,” he said. “We can definitely build on this performance. Now we just need to sort it out so that we can qualify a bit higher, because if we can do that, we can really challenge for podiums and wins.”

Ericsson feels like he has something to prove in both IndyCar and F1. He was unceremoniously dumped by Sauber F1 in lieu of aging superstar Kimi Raikkonen and young turk Antonio Giovanazzi for 2019. Despite the slight, Marcus was able to salvage a seat with the team as a back-up driver for Kimi and Antonio.

Ericsson has not given up hope on returning to F1 in the future. “I don’t want to close the door on F1, but I’m really looking forward to racing in America and I can see myself staying for a long time,” he said. “That is why it’s very important that every time I go out on track I prove what I can do.”

Allan Brewer

Allan Brewer covers IndyCar and other racing series for RacingNation.com. Allan is a fixture at the race track, armed with keyboard and camera, eager to take you inside open-wheel sport where the news is being made. He comes to RacingNation.com with multiple professional awards from the American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association (AWWRBA). He began his motorsports writing career at FastMachines.com; and solely published IndyProRacer.com and A1GP.com, two award-winning websites for open-wheel racing’s junior leagues, prior to becoming IndyCar correspondent at Motorsport.com. He has also covered Formula 1, NASCAR, Formula E, the Indy Lights Series and its predecessor Indy Pro Series, NHRA events and major auto shows. His major interest outside of competition is automotive technology and its application to the cars we drive every day on the public highways.

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