Marcus Ericsson · Biography

On 21 January 2014, Caterham confirmed Marcus Thorbjörn Ericsson as a Formula 1 race driver for that season, alongside Kamui Kobayashi. The deal gave the Swede, born on 2 September 1990 in Kumla, Örebro County, five years in the world championship and 97 grand prix starts. He then crossed the Atlantic, and in the United States he found what Formula 1 had never given him: wins, including the 2022 Indianapolis 500.

From karting to Formula BMW

Ericsson started karting at the age of nine and in 2005 won the Swedish ICA Junior championship. His move into single-seaters came in Britain. In 2007, driving for Fortec Motorsport, he became British Formula BMW champion with seven wins and 676 points, a title that opened the door to Formula 3.

Formula 3 in Britain and Japan

He stayed with Fortec for the 2008 British Formula 3 season and finished fifth without a win. In 2009 he split his year between two series. In Britain, with Räikkönen Robertson Racing, he took two wins and placed eleventh. In Japan, with the TOM'S team, he won five races and claimed the Japanese Formula 3 title.

Four seasons in GP2

His GP2 spell lasted four campaigns. In 2010, with Super Nova Racing, he won in Valencia and ended the year 17th. He moved to iSport International in 2011, finishing tenth, and improved to eighth in 2012 with a victory at Spa-Francorchamps. In 2013 he raced for DAMS, won in Germany and finished sixth on 121 points.

Formula 1 with Caterham and Sauber

He made his debut at the 2014 Australian Grand Prix. In an uncompetitive Caterham, with the team in financial trouble, he started 16 races without scoring. In 2015 he joined Sauber and finished eighth in his first race for the Swiss team, again in Australia: the first points for a Swedish driver in Formula 1 since 1989. He scored nine that year. The 2016 and 2017 seasons brought no points, and in 2018 he ended a 49-race scoring drought in Bahrain on his way to another nine. Sauber replaced him with Antonio Giovinazzi for 2019, although he stayed on as third driver and brand ambassador. His record: 97 starts and 18 points, with no podiums.

The move to IndyCar

In 2019 he joined IndyCar with Arrow Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, took a podium in Detroit and finished 17th. In 2020 he signed for Chip Ganassi Racing, with fourth place at Road America as his best result and twelfth in the standings. His first win came in 2021 in Detroit Race 1, followed soon after by a second in Nashville; he finished the championship sixth.

Indianapolis and the Ganassi years

On 29 May 2022 he won the Indianapolis 500 with Ganassi, and again finished sixth overall. In 2023 he opened the year with victory in St. Petersburg and led the Indy 500 into the final lap, but Josef Newgarden passed him and he settled for second. He was sixth in the championship once more.

Andretti Global

On 23 August 2023, Andretti announced his signing for 2024. He finished 15th in his first year with the team. In 2025 he crossed the line second at Indianapolis but was disqualified after technical inspection, and ended the season 20th. On 16 August 2026 he won the first race held on the streets of Markham, Canada, after passing Romain Grosjean in the closing laps: his fifth IndyCar victory and his first with Andretti, ending a run of 63 races without a win.