Marcus Ericsson

Ericsson finished the 2013 GP2 season with DAMS and made his Formula One debut with Caterham F1 in 2014.

Marcus Ericsson in a file photo. (Image: Twitter)
By Nilavro Ghosh | Nov 29, 2022 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

Marcus Ericsson is a professional racing driver from Sweden. He is the 2022 Indianapolis 500 winner and competes in the NTT IndyCar Series for Chip Ganassi Racing in the No. 8 Honda. Between 2014 and 2018, Ericsson competed in Formula One. Following a successful debut in car racing in 2007, when he won the British Formula BMW title with Fortec Motorsport, he advanced to the British team’s British Formula Three Championship squad. After finishing as one of the category’s top rookies, Ericsson moved on to the All-Japan Formula Three Championship, which he won in his first year. Ericsson drove for iSport between 2011 and 2012. Ericsson finished the 2013 GP2 season with DAMS and made his Formula One debut with Caterham F1 in 2014.

Formula One

Ericsson drove for Brawn GP during the three-day young driver test at Circuito de Jerez on December 1-3, 2009. He tested alongside Mike Conway of the IndyCar Series. Conway won by three-tenths of a second, but team principal Ross Brawn praised Ericsson’s performance, saying that he performed very well, showing exceptional maturity in his approach and feedback. On November 21, 2013, it was announced that Ericsson would be a candidate to drive for the Caterham F1 Team in 2014, alongside Kamui Kobayashi. The team announced on 21 January 2014 that Ericsson and Kobayashi would be their race driver line-up for the upcoming season, with Robin Frijns as reserve.

Due to Caterham F1’s insolvency on October 21, 2014, neither team driver was able to compete in the United States Grand Prix. Despite this, Ericsson flew to Texas to commentate on the race for Swedish television and landed a new driving position for 2015. On November 12, Ericsson’s contract with Caterham was terminated. He finished the season in 19th place, the highest of the Caterham drivers who competed in 2014.

Sauber

Sauber announced the signing of Ericsson for 2015 during the 2014 United States Grand Prix on November 1, 2014. Ericsson finished eighth in his first race with the team in Australia, becoming the first Swedish driver to score points since Stefan Johansson finished third in the 1989 Portuguese Grand Prix.

Before the summer break, he added another point with a tenth-place finish in Hungary, followed by another tenth in Belgium. Ericsson qualified for Q3 at the Italian Grand Prix, finishing 10th before being penalised for blocking Nico HĂĽlkenberg in Q1. Ericsson eventually finished ninth, taking his fifth points position of the season and finishing ahead of teammate Felipe Nasr once more.

Ericsson’s 2017 campaign got off to a rocky start when he was forced to retire due to a hydraulic issue in Australia. In China, he qualified 14th and finished 15th. In Bahrain, he struggled to match teammate Wehrlein, and his race ended in another retirement due to gearbox failure. For the first time this season, he finished 15th in Russia, ahead of his teammate. Ericsson finished 11th overall in Azerbaijan, where he competed for points with a teammate.

For 2018, Ericsson remained with Sauber, which merged with Alfa Romeo to form the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 team. Charles Leclerc, a new teammate, was alongside him. Ericsson finished ninth in the Bahrain Grand Prix, earning his first points since the 2015 Italian Grand Prix, after going 49 races without scoring a point. He then added points at the Austrian, German, Belgian, United States, and Mexican Grands Prix. It was announced shortly before the 2018 Russian Grand Prix that Ericsson would be replaced at Sauber by Antonio Giovinazzi, but would remain with the team as their third driver and brand ambassador.

Career Stats

Races97
Wins0
Podiums0
Pole positions0
Points18