Gutiérrez endured an on-again, off-again relationship with Formula One, first joining the Sauber F1 team for two seasons before moving to Ferrari to become test and reserve driver for 2016. Ahead of the 2016 season, Gutiérrez was signed to the new Haas F1 team but was replaced at the end of the year. Instead, Esteban moved to the Formula E series for the 2016/17 season.

F1 biography

Esteban Gutiérrez started his adventures in motorsport with karting in various Mexican championships. He was signed to the young driver programme by Escudería Telmex which gave him the backing he needed to push his racing career forward. He made the step up to Formula BMW in 2007, finishing the season second in the championship and picking up a rookie of the year award.

In 2008, he moved to the European Formula BMW series, winning the championship in a dominant fashion. The following year, he progressed to Formula Three and then in 2010 he was signed to the ART Grand Prix team for the GP3 championship. Gutiérrez secured the title in its first year, and thus was promoted to ART’s GP2 team for 2011 and 2012. He had mixed results throughout the two seasons, but was granted a test drive for the Sauber F1 team in late 2012.

After participating in the young driver running, he was signed for the 2013 season, alongside Nico Hülkenberg. The mixed results continued, to the point where team principal Monisha Kaltenborn was forced to defend their rookie driver as he was “doing all his learning in public” due to the lack of testing available for potential F1 stars. Gutiérrez picked up his first points in Japan towards the end of the season, and secured himself a race seat with Sauber for 2014, lining up alongside the more experienced Adrian Sutil.

He endured a quiet 2014 campaign, missing out on any points through the year but not embarrassing himself along the way. The Sauber team opted for a total overhaul for 2015, leaving Gutiérrez without a race seat, but he moved to Ferrari to become a test driver instead. The link with Ferrari allowed him to make the switch to the brand new Haas F1 Team, joining Romain Grosjean for their inaugural F1 season.

It was a solid, if unspectacular, season with the new US team, but Gutiérrez hadn't done enough to impress. Haas hired Kevin Magnussen for the 2017 season, leaving Esteban without a race seat. Instead, he joined the Formula E series for the 2016/17 season.

Learn more about Esteban Gutiérrez with the Pocket F1 Handbook.