The Sauber F1 team has announced the signing of both Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr for the 2015 season.

The Swede, Ericsson, was the first driver announced by the mid-field team and team principal Monisha Kaltenborn believes that the 24-year-old has shown enough during the season to warrant his signing.

“He did not have an easy rookie season this year in Formula 1, however, he kept calm and improved continuously, mainly in the last races. We are convinced that signing Marcus can give the team a fresh impetus,” said Kaltenborn.

Ericsson’s future in the sport was in doubt as his Caterham team were placed under administration and faced the threat of not returning to the Formula 1 grid. “Fresh from a very turbulent week, I was suddenly given my best early Christmas present ever,” he said.”It will be a great challenge. I will give my very best to develop both as a driver, and to be part of the challenge to put Sauber back closer to the front where it belongs.”

Brazilian GP2 driver Felipe Nasr will join Sauber as Ericsson’s teammate for 2015.

“We have been following Felipe’s career path for some time now. He fully deserves his position in Formula 1 having had a very successful career in the junior categories. We are happy that he will be driving for our team next year. This means that Brazil will have one more young and talented driver in the sport,” explained Kaltenborn

In addition to racing successfully in the GP2 series Nasr has spent the 2014 season as the reserve and test driver for the Williams Martini team.

“This is an unforgettable moment that I owe to all of those who have supported me,” he said. “I had a wonderful year at Williams, where I learned a lot and prepared myself to be a race driver in Formula 1.””Today the dream has come true. Sauber was responsible for the arrival in F1 of great names such Felipe Massa, Kimi Raikkonen, Robert Kubica and Sebastian Vettel. I am proud now to also be part of this racing family.”

Meanwhile, current Sauber driver Adrian Sutil has said that expected to be retained by the team for next season. The German was quoted in Austin as saying that he was committed to the team and was looking forward to improving its performance and position in the field.