Marcus Ericsson Quotes

The first race is really just something that we will all need to get through. Until people see the cars in action I don't think they will understand how quick they will be, which means they are going to be tiring to drive.

In World Series, everything is a bit slower than F1. But each time I sit in the car, whether it is World Series or F1, once I am in the cockpit, I am mentally prepared for what the car is. I don't have to physically drive it to remember what it is doing.

To be honest, once you've driven around for about five, 10 laps, you don't notice a difference.

One of my biggest problems this season was with the clutch at the start of the race. I hate to risk the car.

I think you have to feel comfortable with your car. You have to go into turn one, every lap, with confidence. You have to be sure of yourself and your equipment.

When I got to Ferrari I learnt to be less aggressive, and how to set up the car for my driving style.

If you sign someone with the speed but whose time is over, they will set up the car differently and badly. You are 80 percent of the time going through corners, and you set up the car differently compared to someone who comes and wants to go flat out.

It takes a little time to return to a Formula One car after 15 months away and to get back in the rhythm again, but after about 20 laps, I was feeling really comfortable and enjoying myself.

The power of a car is separate from the way the car is driven.

It's not how you come out of the starting blocks.

I mean, you've kind of got the track down, especially with ovals. The only thing that improves is that when race conditions come, you know what to expect slightly more from the track and from your car.

F1 teams need a driver who will consistently set lap times that are 100 percent on the edge.

As a driver, you want to race every lap possible, especially when you've got a good car.

The driver of a racing car is a component. When I first began, I used to grip the steering wheel firmly, and I changed gear so hard that I damaged my hand.

I guess everybody saw it. It's a deal where I'd been racing cars a long time and I knew going around the track the fender was on the tire hard.

I've always been attracted to cars, and driving is a completely measurable experience: if you qualify last on the grid, you're the slowest, and if you qualify first on the grid, you're the fastest. So no one can say you're slow if you're fast and no one can say you're fast if you're slow.

Firstly the cars aren't too complicated. They have no traction control, for example, which means you can spin if you try too hard and damage your tires if you're not careful with your driving style.

Qualifying is all about putting everything that you have and that the car has in one lap. It's like a rush, I really enjoy that.

When you drive a car, either you manage it and feel it with the grip of the car, or, like me, you fix it on visual speed. If you do it through the grip, you lose it very quickly - because when the track changes, you can have scares. I do it visually, so if I am going too fast I fight to get the car back, but I do not do it by feeling the grip.

If there are differences in the race pace it is normally because the tyre is overheating on my side.

My aim, as always, is to deliver a good and consistent performance across the year. That is the goal for any driver.

If anything on the car is going to blow up or fall off, you usually see it happen in the 600. But it's also survival for the drivers because it's such a long race and it's usually hot at Charlotte. It's hard for drivers to feel good for the whole 400 laps.

F2 cars have downforce; they're quick. But it's difficult for your brain and eyes to keep up with everything that's going on once you're in an F1 car. You get used to it and you learn to stay calm, because if you react too quickly the opposite will happen. Being more relaxed is when it becomes more natural and controlled.

I think what I've found is that in IndyCar, the balance is a bit more all over the place compared with Formula 1! You have to get used to that and work around it. Again, as a driver, you can help the situation by the way you brake and apply the throttle to make the balance better.

It's true that driving an F1 car in testing is helpful, it's not that you learn everything.