Sauber confirm Esteban Gutiérrez for second race seat - Pérez lets slip his former team's line up for the coming season
Published by Christine
Welcome to F1Minute - Sauber confirm Esteban Gutiérrez for second race seat.
Outgoing Sauber driver Sergio Pérez gave the bosses a bit of a headache by essentially confirming their new driver on Thursday in the Interlagos paddock, so the team have gone ahead and made the announcement today. Esteban Gutiérrez gets the second seat alongside Nico Hülkenberg, with Robin Frijns joining them as reserve driver.
Esteban has been in the car for several Fridays this year, whilst Frijns joined the squad for the Young Driver test in Abu Dhabi recently. Speaking of the opportunity, Esteban said: “After three years working with Sauber, I feel very grateful for all the attention I have received... and for all their input... This is the start of the real challenge to succeed at the pinnacle of motorsport.”
Team principal Monisha Kaltenborn added: “We mapped out his path to F1 step by step. Esteban has a great talent and now he’s ready to take the leap.” She also took time out to pay tribute to Kamui Kobayashi, saying: “This has not been an easy decision for us to take, but we have committed ourselves to a new beginning.”
