Sauber must use Ferrari’s power unit strength to good use at the upcoming two events in Belgium and Italy, according to Marcus Ericsson.
Ferrari has made strides with its power unit in 2018 and its engine is now widely regarded to be the benchmark, with the improved form of Haas and Sauber have drawn into attention.
Both Spa-Francorchamps, and predominantly Monza, place a strong emphasis on engine prowess, with Mercedes unbeaten at the latter in the hybrid era.
But with Ferrari now setting the pace in terms of power units Ericsson reckons Sauber must capitalise on its anticipated advantage if it is to overhaul Toro Rosso in the standings.
“I think Spa and Monza can be good tracks for us, it’s tracks we like,” said Ericsson.
“We know it’s [the engine update] working, we tried it in Hungary, was working fine, means we can use it to the fullest atSpa and Monza.
“We need to score points in both races with both cars, that’s the aim.
“For sure these two tracks will be good for us, our target needs to be to score points both weekends, especially what Toro Rosso did in Hungary.
“We were hoping to be ahead of them going into summer and they had a strong score so we need to bounce back atSpa/Monza, they will be two good tracks for us and maybe weaker for them.”
Ericsson and team-mate Charles Leclerc both took on Ferrari’s updated Internal Combustion Engine, Turbocharger and MGU-H at the pre-summer Hungarian Grand Prix.
Neither Ferrari driver ran the updated specification, a repeat of the strategy the manufacturer took by giving its customers the upgraded parts in Monaco before installing them to the works cars in Canada.
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