The second of the two seats at the brand new Haas F1 team has finally been confirmed today. In one of the worst-kept secrets in F1 this year, Haas confirm Esteban Gutierrez as their second driver for 2016 alongside Frenchman Romain Grosjean. Gutierrez, 24 from Mexico has spent this year as a reserve driver with Haas’ technical partner – Scuderia Ferrari.
2010 GP3 champion Gutierrez has not had a race seat in 2015. Gutierrez also raced in GP2, finishing third overall in 2012. Like Grosjean, Gutierrez, who is much younger than his new team mate at 24, has had a tough introduction into Formula One as well. He found himself vastly outpaced by 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans co-winner Nico Hülkenberg back in 2013 with the Sauber team, although Gutierrez had a strong showing at the fearsome Suzuka circuit, scoring his first and only F1 points to date. He was partnered by former Force India driver Adrian Sutil for 2014, and the two were relatively evenly matched. Despite this, both lost their seat for 2015 and Gutierrez took a role as a reserve driver, where he has learned from the likes of current Ferrari drivers Vettel and Räikkönen.
Gutierrez finished the 2013 season with Sauber in 16th position, and the 2014 season again with Sauber in 20th
position. His highest finish to date is seventh place and he set the fastest lap at the 2014 Spanish Grand Prix. The announcement was made via livestream on Friday night. The Haas team appear very much well-prepared for their first venture into Formula One in time for 2016. The chassis will be developed by Dallara and the partnership with Ferrari will mean that the team will have a 2016 Ferrari power unit as of next year. This also means that Mexico will have two drivers on the grid for 2016 both confirmed on the eve of the first Mexican Grand Prix weekend in over 20 years. Main image:
