Published: Less than 50 min ago
In 2021, Marcus Ericsson won his first race in IndyCar. In 2022 he won the Indy 500 and in 2023 he leads the championship.
Among other things, his new wife Iris is behind the success.
– Since we met, everything around me has changed, it’s fantastic, he says.
For five years, Ericsson fought for his career in Formula 1, but in 2018 he was forced to leave the championship after Kimi Räikkönen took over his place at Alfa Romeo. He then turned to the United States, but it took almost three years before he broke through.
The first victory came in Detroit in 2021.
Around the same time he met his new wife.
– It’s a bit funny when you think back, he says, laughs and continues to pay tribute to his wife.
– Since we met, I have taken myself to a whole new level as an athlete. I think a lot of it is about me being happy, that I feel good at home and that I can get the most out of it when I feel her wonderful support. It is a security. I think it has an awful lot to do with those things.
Can you describe her support?
– She believes in me, while being very independent and that’s nice. She studies economics in Copenhagen, but even though it is not a distance learning course, she studies remotely and passes all the exams. She is driven, confident and supportive.
Marcus Ericsson on the love for his wife
She accompanies him on almost all of his trips, but that doesn’t necessarily mean she hangs out on the track.
– When we were in Long Beach, I called her after training to see if we should eat something, but she was in Los Angeles doing something, an hour away. She is incredibly independent, while also being a great supporter, and I appreciate that.
The couple married in California on April 17, 2023. It was a wedding that was planned but kept secret from everyone except Alex Elgh, who has been Marcus’ body coach, all-in-all and constant companion for ten years. He came along as a witness and photographer.
– We really wanted to do it for ourselves, we want to start a common life together in the USA and we knew this place in Santa Barbara well and we also wanted to get married there. Then, of course, we plan a big wedding party with friends and family in the future when the opportunity arises. We naturally also want to celebrate this with them, he says.
You are newly married, but competing in a rather dangerous sport. Have you thought about expanding the family with children?
– So, one step at a time. We are not there yet, I am extremely happy as it is now. I haven’t thought along those lines yet, although IndyCar is a much more family-friendly place than Formula 1. In F1, not many people have families like that, but there are many families who are in IndyCar. It’s a different lifestyle to F1, so we’ll see.
Marcus Ericsson leads IndyCar
IndyCar, as distinguished from F1 racing in unit cars, is decided on three different track types, city tracks, ovals and traditional racetracks. Marcus Ericsson has impressed during the start of 2023, he won the premiere and has taken another podium which means he leads the championship.
– The start of the season has been fantastically good and I’m looking forward to the continuation.
Now the all-important Month of May in IndyCar has started and the championship competes at the GP track in Indianapolis this weekend, before it’s time for the crown jewel, the Indy 500 on the last weekend of May.
That competition Marcus Ericsson surprisingly won in 2022.
