OPEN WHEEL

The Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team showed progress throughout the weekend with the race looking promising as Marcus Ericsson and Charles Leclerc lapped with good pace. Ericsson made a good start and had already gained one position to 16th when he had to retire on lap six due to a hydraulic issue on his car, which is now undergoing further investigation. On the other side of the garage, debut Formula 1 racer Charles Leclerc had a strong race during which he put in a consistent performance that enabled him to finish 13th. The Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team leaves Australia feeling positive and heading to Bahrain with confidence for the second round of the FIA Formula 1 Championship.

Marcus Ericsson (car number 9):C37 (Chassis 03/Ferrari)Qualifying: 17th in Q1 (1:24.556 min / ultrasoft tyres) 3rd practice: 3th (1:28.890 min / ultrasoft tyres / 14 laps) “The work done overnight by the engineers on track and at the headquarters in Switzerland paid off. All in all it was a good qualifying today. We have made good progress since yesterday when we were quite a long way off the competition. We should be proud of the work that we have put in since then because it made a big difference. We are still not where we want to be, but today we were really close to Q2. We do have a lot of work ahead of us, but we are in the fight which is nice to see. Overall, I am happy with the progress and I look forward to the first race of the season”