Sauber has fitted a new Energy Store and gearbox to Marcus Ericsson’s C37 ahead of Sunday’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Ericsson displayed strong form through Friday practice but crashed during Q1 on Saturday and qualified at the rear of the 20-car grid.
Sauber has thus opted to fit the new components to his car, with any resultant grid penalties ultimately meaningless.
“It’s super disappointing,” said Ericsson of his early exit from qualifying.
“The short runs were good but the long runs were even better, the car felt great on the long run and I was really really strong.
“It’s very, very frustrating not to get a decent place to show that.
“I will still try and do the best race I can but around here I think we’ll see very few overtakes.
“We’ll try and do something with strategy but when it’s one stop it’s difficult as well. So we’ll see.”
Team-mate Charles Leclerc will start from 10th position.
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