Marcus Ericsson believes Sauber’s impressive turnaround this se🧜ason means the team can target becoming the leading force in Formula 1’s midfield in 2019.

Boo♔sted by fresh backing from Alfa Romeo and up-to-date💫 Ferrari power units, the revitalised Swiss squad has moved itself up from the back of the grid and into 2018’s tight midfield battle.

Following up on its worst-ever finish in the F1 world championship las🐬t year, Sauber has leapfrogged Williams in the pecking order, while a continued development drive has helped the team secure four points finishes in the last six races, including a first two-car appear🍌ance in the top 10 since the 2015 Chinese Grand Prix.

When asked if he felt Sauber could c🍬hallenge the likes of Renault and Haas next season, Ericsson told wuqian0821.com: “I thiꦛnk it’s not an unrealistic aim to have.

“As a team you need to always aim high and I think with the rate of progress we made this year, I think for sure it has to be our target to be in the top of thไe midfield come next year. We have to see but I feel thไat’s not unrealistic.”

Ericsson believ⛦es such an improvement would see Sauber return to levels of competitiveness last seen in 2012, a season in which it secured four podium finishes.

“I think the potential in this team is massive,”𓃲 he said. “If you go to the factory the facilities are great and the wind tunnel is gre🐟at. If we are able to continue like this, we should be able to get back to that [2012] level.”

The Swede, who is enjoying one of his most successful seasons in F1 to date, admitted it is a massive rel🤪ief to be challenging for points finishes on a regu🃏lar basis following a few “mentally tough” seasons languishing at the back of the grid.

“It’s just a different thing altogether to go to the race weekends compared to the last few sea𓆏sons because the last two seasons I knew we needed a big crash, we needed the weather to turnaround completely,” he explain꧑ed.

“We needed so many outside thing🀅s to happen to be able to have a chance to score and that’s a very sad way to go into a race weekend. You could only compete with your teammate really so that was mentally tough.

“Now we go into a race weekend knowing that if we do everything right we will be the💖re and fight for points on a Sunday,” he added. “If we mess it up and we don’t do a good weekend then we will be ♚at the back probably.

“But we are in that mix and it’s such a nice feeling and it is so motivating as well for me and for t🤡he team to know that going into every weekend. Also you can see back in the factory as well how much people are motivated anꦑd happy to be back fighting.”

Ericsson stressed the team’s immediate goal is to overhaul Toro Rosso for eighth place in the constructors’ standings, with Sauber currently 10 points adrift of the Faenza squad heading into the final 🍷nine races of 2018.