Esteban Gutierrez

Esteban Gutierrez is a Mexican racing driver who recorded 59 starts in the Formula One World Championship between 2013 and 2016, driving for Sauber and Haas. He raced also in some other major open-wheel competitions, such as IndyCar Series or Formula E. Earlier in a career, Gutierrez clinched championship titles in GP3 Series in 2010 and Formula BMW Europe in 2008.

Esteban Gutierrez

Early success in karting and Formula BMW

Esteban Manuel Gutierrez Gutierréz was born in August 1991 in the Mexican city of Monterrey and as a 13-year-old started to race karting. He inherited the passion for racing from one of his older brothers and even after he became a Formula 1 driver, Esteban still liked to test his driving skills in karting. This young Mexican was pretty successful at national and later at the international level, so he easily earned a chance in single-seaters.

In 2007, Gutierrez moved to Formula BMW USA Series and finished the season as a runner-up. He scored four wins and other four podiums. Esteban qualified for the Formula BMW World Final that year and finished 25th.

The following season Gutierrez went to Europe what proved to be a perfect decision. Racing in the Formula BMW Europe he won the title after winning 7 out of 16 races and had other five podiums. He finished ahead of some other well-known names like Marco Wittmann, Daniel Juncadella or Adrien Tambay. For the second time, he qualified for the Formula BMW World Final and this time did much better, finishing 3rd.

Esteban Gutierrez - 2010 GP3 Series champion

GP3 Series champion in 2010

After graduating in Formula BMW, the Mexican moved to Formula 3 Euro Series, driving for ART Grand Prix. He failed to win any of 20 races but had two finishes in Top 3, so he took 9th position in the Championship. He also appeared as a guest in four races of British Formula 3 scoring one podium finish.

For the 2010 campaign, Gutierrez stayed with ART Grand Prix but switched to GP3 Series and won the title in his first attempt. With five wins and total of nine podiums in 16 races, the Mexican driver confirmed his talent. Esteban finished the season well ahead of his rivals such as Robert Wickens, Alexander Rossi, Rio Haryanto, Nico Muller and Roberto Merhi.

Third place in the 2012 GP2 Series

Move to GP2 was logical and expected after triumphing in GP3, so Gutierrez drove a full-season in the competition which is the best springboard to Formula 1. Staying with the same team, Esteban had a relatively tough season. Competing against a bunch of more experienced drivers, Mexican managed to win one race and finished 13th in the series.

What was probably more important to him was the fact he was given a chance to taste the atmosphere of Formula 1. Gutierrez was test and reserve driver of Sauber team and kept that role for another year, preparing for the debut in the most popular racing series.

In 2012, Gutierrez continued his journey in GP2 Series and did much better than in his rookie year. Driving for Lotus GP, what was the name of ART Grand Prix that year, Esteban finished 3rd in the Drivers’ championship, behind Davide Valsecchi and Luiz Razia, scoring three race wins and a total of seven podiums.

Esteban Gutierrez spent two years with Sauber in the Formula 1 World Championship

Formula 1 debut with Sauber

Finally, in 2013 Gutierrez was given a chance to race in Formula 1. Driving for Sauber team he even managed to pick his first points, finishing 7th at the Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit. Gutierrez drew attention to himself after he managed to pull out the maximum from the quite uncompetitive car which was best seen at the Spanish Grand Prix when he led at some point of the race and had the fastest lap of the race.

In 2014, his second year with Sauber, Gutierrez couldn’t pick any points but still managed to finish most of the races. The 12th place in the season-opening Grand Prix in Australia was his best result that year, last with the small Swiss team.

Esteban moved from Ferrari to Haas F1 team in 2016

Contract with Ferrari, driving for Haas

Before the start of 2015 season, Esteban Gutierrez was promoted to test and reserve driver of Ferrari. The famous Italian team was a good place for the Mexican to learn and pick a thing or two from the former champions Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen, but for his further progress, it was necessary to drive on a regular basis.

He still had a contract with Ferrari but for the 2016 campaign he moved to race with a newly formed Haas F1 Team, alongside Romain Grosjean. The start of the season wasn’t good as the Mexican retired from the opening two races but later improved slightly. He finished 11th in four races so far, narrowly missing to collect his first point with a new team. Unfortunatelly, the Mexican failed to score points until the end of campaign and was dropped from the team.

Esteban Gutierrez was driving for Haas F1 Team in the 2016 F1 World Championship

Short stints in the IndyCar Series and Formula E

After being left without drive in Formula 1, Gutierrez quickly found a new engagement. In 2017 he began racing in the IndyCar Series with Dale Coyne Racing but also in the FIA Formula E Championship with the Techeetah team. He recorded seven starts in the IndyCar Series and three starts in the Formula E, scoring no wins or podiums.

Esteban Gutierrez is a big racing enthusiast and he is not passionate about Formula 1 and karting racing only, but he also likes motorbike trials and virtual racing. Hockenheimring is his favorite circuit and when he is not behind the wheel, Gutierrez is enjoying in golf and skiing.

Esteban Gutierrez

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