"We didn’t see this coming,” Swede tells Sky Sports News HQ. “We were preparing as normal for the weekend. "
Monday 3 November 2014 18:19, UK
Marcus Ericsson has admitted that he was caught unawares when Caterham went into administration last week.
The development has left the Leafield team unable to compete in this weekend’s United States GP, although Ericsson is in Austin anyway as a guest of Swedish television.
“It’s been a difficult week because really, we didn’t see this coming,” he told Sky Sports News HQ on Thursday. “We were preparing as normal for the weekend.
“Last week – the day before we went into administration – I spoke to my engineer and we were talking about different set-ups for Friday practice.
“I was preparing as normal and that’s why it’s obviously strange not to be racing.”
About 200 jobs are under threat as administrators seek a new buyer for the team, while for Ericsson’s there’s also the personal disappointment at being unable to maintain an upswing in form.
In his first F1 season, the 24-year-old has struggled to make the best of trying circumstances. However, his performances have improved in the last three races, in which he regularly outperformed more experienced team-mate Kamui Kobayashi.
“We had a really difficult year from the start and were struggling quite a lot. Especially for me, it’s been a difficult year but then in the last three races we managed a turn of form and get the car more to my liking,” Ericsson said.
“We were closer to Lotus and Sauber than we’d been all year in Russia, and with that in mind it’s a big shame not to be able to race.”
Ericsson added that he was unsure whether Caterham will stay on the grid, although the former GP2 race winner is naturally keen to remain in F1.
“I think there’s a lot of question marks, but I know we’re working on different things,” he said. “For us, the goal is to stay in Formula 1 100 per cent, so that’s what we’re going to try and do.”
