Ericsson aiming for wins in debut IndyCar season

Marcus Ericsson has set his sights on making a winning start to life in the NTT IndyCar Series in 2019 following his exit from Formula 1.

Ericsson sealed a move to join Schmidt Peterson Motorsports in IndyCar after being dropped from Sauber’s F1 line-up for the coming season, ending the Swede’s five-season stint in F1.

Ericsson failed to record a finish any higher than eighth in F1, but told The Drive ahead of his first year racing in the United States that he is hopeful of contending for victories through his debut season.

"I'm coming here to try and be up there, to fight for victory, so I'm not coming here to be P10 or P12,” Ericsson said.

“That's the goal. But I have huge respect to the guys of been here for years and all the tracks in the series, so it's a big challenge.

- HARVEY CONFIRMS 10-RACE INDYCAR PROGRAMME

- ERICSSON: FIRST INDYCAR TEST RESTORED RACING PASSION

- ERICSSON EXPECTING LONG STINT IN INDYCAR

“I set a bit of a personal goal to win a race. That would be a great thing to do, and then try and be as high as possible in the championship.

“But like I said, I'm not coming here to finish making up the numbers, I'm coming here to fight at the top, and that's what I'm going to aim to do.”

Ericsson will partner six-time IndyCar race winner and 2016 Indianapolis 500 pole-sitter James Hinchcliffe at Schmidt Peterson Motorsports.

“I think, to be honest, he's the perfect teammate for me. He has lots of experience, but he's also a very humble and open guy,” Ericsson said of Hinchcliffe.

“We’ve only worked a few weeks together, but he seems to very open to helping me get up to speed, and hopefully we will be able to work closer together and push the team forward and make the team successful this year."