Caterham F1 Team
Marcus Ericsson is hopeful that Caterham can put on a better performance at this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix after a difficult start to the 2014 season.
Caterham currently props up the Constructors' championship with Ericsson having achieved a best result of 14th in Malaysia.
The Swede believes that Caterham can improve in Monte Carlo after encountering their 'worst case scenario' in Spain.
"It’s been quite a tough part of the year, obviously we had some issues with the car and the power unit, but I think I’m getting it more and more and learning to extract more from the car," Ericsson told F1Zone.net ahead of this weekend's event.
"As a team we’re a bit disappointed of course as we are not where we want to be, but myself I think I’ve done a decent job so far. I think my own performance has been to get closer to [team-mate] Kamui [Kobayashi], that’s what I’ve been doing.
"I think Spain was the track where it was the worst case scenario for us as it was critical on the aerodynamic side, which we haven’t been good on so far, and also the hard and medium compounds doesn’t seem to suit us at the moment. It was a worst case scenario on that weekend on that track – this weekend we should bounce back."
Whereas the medium and hard compound tyres were used in Spain, this weekend's Monaco Grand Prix will feature the supersoft and soft tyres - a decision which Ericsson reckons should aid the squad.
"It’s something for us; our car works a lot better on the softer compounds and we’re more competitive on those – I think we can be a bit stronger this weekend," he said. "I think this is a place where anything can happen. It’s a race where we can be stronger than other places, so hopefully we can have a good weekend and have a few surprises in the race and get a good result."
Caterham F1 Team
Having been a regular frontrunner during several seasons of GP2, Ericsson admits he will have to adapt his approach if he is to collect a good result this weekend.
"You need to change a bit as always before in my life I’ve been going for race victories and to win, but now your aim is to try and beat the Marussias and try and beat your team-mate, so you need to change your approach a bit going into a race weekend – but it’s still a lot of fun and we’re still racing other people," he said.
Wet weather could play a part in this weekend's event and Ericsson echoed comments made by Sergio Perez in saying that even in dry running, this year's cars will make life difficult for Formula 1 drivers.
"The cars this year are pretty difficult to drive even in the dry on a normal circuit, so I think rain around here will be tricky for everyone," he said. "Even in the dry I think there will be more mistakes than usual. In the wet it will be a big challenge for everyone."
