Caterham's Ericsson learning a rough and wet lesson


SEPANG: Caterham rookie Marcus Ericsson is finding out the hard way how difficult it is to control a Formula One machine on a wet Sepang track.
 
Ericsson lost it during the first part of qualifying and went off the track into a wall, through a brake marker and back onto the track where he was almost hit by Sauber’s Esteban Gutierrez.

The crash sheared off a sizeable chunk of the front part of the car and resulted in the first part of qualifying coming to a premature close.
 
As a result, the 23-year-old Swede will start the race from the back of the grid after finishing bottom of the timesheets. 

Ericsson apologised to the team and said Saturday’s wet qualifying session was a whole new experience for him. 

“We went into qualifying with a bit of an idea about where we would be in terms of outright pace in the dry,” said Ericsson.

“But the rain started just before qualifying and we went into the delayed session knowing we’d start on a wet track.
 
“That was my first ever wet running in F1, in any session ... so, from the first lap, it was all a new experience for me.
 
“With every lap I was learning more and more and we made a quick stop with a few minutes left to put on another set of intermediate tyres. But then, on the final quick lap, I made a mistake in sector one and crashed. 

“I am really sorry for the team. They’ve worked so hard all weekend on the problems we’ve had and now they have another huge job ahead of them to prepare the car for Sunday. 

“This has been another big lesson for me – my first wet running in F1, my first Q1 on inters and my first big off. 

“It’s all part of being a rookie in F1 and I will learn from every single thing that happens.”

His Japanese team-mate, Kamui Kobayashi, didn’t fare any better. 

Kamui, who is driving for the Malaysian-backed team without pay, had only a limited running time with the car due to technical problems and will start the race from 20th position.

Limited time offer:
Just RM5 per month.

Monthly Plan

RM13.90/month
RM5/month

Billed as RM5/month for the 1st 6 months then RM13.90 thereafters.

Annual Plan

RM12.33/month

Billed as RM148.00/year

1 month

Free Trial

For new subscribers only


Cancel anytime. No ads. Auto-renewal. Unlimited access to the web and app. Personalised features. Members rewards.
Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

   

Next In Motorsport

Motorcross training to keep Akid up to speed in CP150 title defence
Motor racing-Thirty years on, fans pay tribute to Senna at Imola
Motor racing-Newey confirms 2025 exit in blow to Red Bull
Azhan: Full grid of cars shows increased interest in MCS
Motor racing-Wolff knocks back speculation about Verstappen talks
It’s rare hands-on for six UTM students in motorsport
Hakim aiming high after first podium finish in Jerez
Motor racing-Red Bull should stick with Perez, says Szafnauer
Motor racing-Evans leads Jaguar one-two in Monaco Formula E
Leona leaves men trailing in her slipstream in China sprint challenge

Others Also Read