Formula 1 Rolex Australian Grand Prix – Qualifying – Saturday

24 March 2018

The Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team concluded a positive qualifying session at Albert Park with Marcus Ericsson and Charles Leclerc in P17 and P18 respectively. After a morning marked with heavy rainfall, the third free practice session gave the teams a chance to complete some laps on wet and intermediate tyre compounds. With the sun coming out in the afternoon, and in more representative running conditions, the two Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team drivers made another step forward. Tomorrow will bring a long and demanding race with the weather forecast still unpredictable, but Marcus Ericsson and Charles Leclerc look confident going into the opening round of the FIA Formula 1 season.

Marcus Ericsson (car number 9):
C37 (Chassis 03/Ferrari)
Qualifying: 17^th in Q1 (1:24.556 min / ultrasoft tyres)
3^rd practice: 3^th (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”

Charles Leclerc (car number 16):
C37 (Chassis 02/Ferrari)
Qualifying: 18^th in Q1 (1:24.636 min / ultrasoft tyres)
3^rd practice: 16^th (1:36.448 min / intermediate tyres / 12 laps)
“I had my first qualifying in Formula 1 today – so overall, it was an exciting day. We had a wet free practice session followed by a dry qualifying, which was not ideal as I could not practice for what lay ahead. In qualifying, I made a small error in turn 4 which cost us Q2 – a shame, but it is the first round of the season, so it was still a positive learning experience. Now, my focus is on making improvements going forward. Tomorrow, I will take part in my first Formula 1 race. I look forward to it very much.”