F1 News
Ericsson looks back: "F1 has big risk of hurting your reputation"
Nicolás Quarles van Ufford
IndyCar rookie and former Formula 1 driver Marcus Ericsson has opened up about the latter sport, in which he took part in for Sauber up until last season, saying driving in Formula 1 can be very damaging for a driver's reputation.
The former Caterham and Sauber driver spent five full seasons in Formula 1 and had over 100 Grands Prix under his belt before being replaced at Alfa Romeo Sauber by Kimi Raikkonen, as Ericsson has become the reserve driver.
The Swede has moved on to IndyCar, where he drives for Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, and talking to RACER, the 29-year-old explained how F1 can actually be damaging to your career.
“Formula 1 has a big risk of hurting your reputation,” the 29-year-old said.
“It’s very easy in Formula 1 to be put in a folder, like ‘He’s s**t, or he’s not good enough,’ or he’s this or that. I love Formula 1 — Formula 1 is Formula 1 and it always will be for me — but I think one of the problems with Formula 1 is that it is clearly a manufacturer’s championship."
Moving on to IndyCar after half a decade of Formula 1, Ericsson impressively qualified P13 for the famous Indy500 for Schmidt Peterson, and for a rookie, he's been stellar in the series.
Fighting for podiums and even wins is in the realm of possibilities in IndyCar, even if you're not on a top team. This is something he thinks F1 needs to improve on.
“For drivers, if you’re in a good team it’s a great championship, but if you’re not in a top team then it is a difficult championship and it’s easy to be put in folders and then it’s difficult to show what you can do. So I think that’s one of the problems Formula 1 has, especially now when it’s so spread out between the top and the rest.
“For sure I feel like I’m rebuilding my reputation here, 100%."
