MARCUS ERICSSON SAUBER DRIVER

Were points on the table today?

The start of the race was really good, I kept the pace quite well. The main thing was that I kept the Mclarens behind, they couldn’t get close enough to pass. To run inside the top 10 for the first 30 laps was really good. We timed the pitstop really well. I think we could have been able to keep position. Then the virtual safety car came at the worst possible moment for us and ruined our race. We lost out to both Mclarens and Massa.

How frustrating is it to come away with nothing?

It’s frustrating because I’m still zero on points. I’ve had a few places like Barcelona, when [team-mate] Pascal [Wehrlein] scored, I also had a strong race but I was unlucky with different things. Then in Baku, I was running in the points the whole race and then having to let Pascal by in the end.

Why has Sauber come on so strongly?

The last two weekends, we have worked the tyres a bit differently, a bit different temperature windows and that seems to be helping us quite a lot. From my side, we’ve got 7kg out of the car since Malaysia. That’s quite a lot of lap time every lap for me, two or three tenths depending on the track. Also on the engine side, the Ferrari guys have managed to get a bit more out of it.