"It's strange for me": Marcus Ericsson gives no-nonsense opinion on IndyCar's Thermal Club race

Marcus Ericsson didn't qualify for the All-Star race last year at Thermal Club and is happy with the race being transformed into a points-paying race. The Swede admits that the race's previous status was strange for him as he looks to participate in the Grand Prix on Sunday, March 23.

Ericsson joined the IndyCar grid following his F1 exit and has impressed the paddock. He went on to win the 2022 Indy 500 and finished runner-up the subsequent year.

The 34-year-old moved to Andretti last year and made his debut at Thermal Club with the $1 Million Challenge. However, he was unable to qualify for the race due to its different set of rules and was discontent with the race weekend.

With the race at Thermal Club being promoted to Grand Prix this year, the situation is a lot different. The 27-car grid will look to qualify to earn points for the race, and when asked whether he would choose the exhibition or points race, Marcus Ericsson said (via Frontstretch Open Wheel):

"I mean for sure the points race. I think the exhibition was a bit hard to wrap your head around a race weekend like that. Like is it real is it not? Like how much focus do you need, it was a bit strange for me.

"So I really prefer it being a points race because then you know it's the business everyone is going to go out there and do everything to win and score good points. So I'm excited about it, I think we're going to have a good race. I really believe that tire degradation and pit strategy is going to be big this weekend, so I think it's going to be a fun race to both race and watch." (0:55 onwards)

Ericsson's move to Andretti last year only saw him finishing on the podium during the 2024 campaign.

---

Marcus Ericsson hopes for a better 2025 campaign

Marcus Ericsson at the INDYCAR Bommarito Automotive Group 500 - Source: Getty

The Swedish driver earned four wins at Chip Ganassi Racing and finished sixth in the championship for three years consecutively (2021-23). However, his impressive string of results suddenly changed to subpar race weekend with his debut year at Andretti.

Subsequently, when asked about his former campaign, he confessed that he can't have another season like that again. Ericsson said (via The Race):

"I can't have a year like that again. That's not the way I need to perform."

The former Indy 500 winner was one of the early pacesetters in St. Petersburg, topping the second practice session in Florida. His strong pace has continued into Thermal Club, finishing the first practice session in the top-three.

Marcus Ericsson will look to bag an impressive result at the track and secure another top-10 result.