Mexican driver Esteban Gutierrez shows his new team jacket during a press conference to annouce that he has signed with the Haas team for the next season, at the Soumaya museum in Mexico City. (AFP)

 

AFP/Mexico City


Former Sauber driver Esteban Gutierrez of Mexico will drive for the new US-based Haas team when they make their Formula One debut in 2016.
The announcement on Friday, at a press event at Mexico City’s Soumaya Museum two days before the Mexican Grand Prix, confirmed the worst-kept secret in Formula One.
The 24-year-old will join French driver Romain Grosjean on the team, which is based in Kannapolis, North Carolina.
Gutierrez is currently the third driver at Ferrari, the technical partner of the Haas outfit which is the first America-led Formula One team in 30 years.
“I got to know Esteban through our relationship with Ferrari, and after looking at the success he’s had to earn his role there, it became clear he was an excellent choice for our race team,” team founder Gene Haas said.
“He’s young and hungry, but not inexperienced,” Haas added. “His two years running a full F1 schedule has given him some very good race experience, and having spent this season at Ferrari as their third driver allowed him to see firsthand the methodology that makes Ferrari such a power in Formula One.”
Gutierrez will get his first drive with the team during the pre-season test February 22-25 at Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona.
Gutierrez made his Formula One debut with Sauber in 2013, taking a season-best result of seventh in Japan.
He stayed at Sauber the following year, but failed to score a point amid their season-long struggles.
And Haas are determined not just to make up the numbers in the incredibly competitive, and expensive, world of Formula One.
“I don’t know where we’re going to be but we don’t want to be 15th, I guarantee,” team owner Gene Haas told at the United States Grand Prix. “We want to be first if we could do that, that’s what racing’s about, that’s why you race to see where you fall out.”
Haas, who enters Formula One having had success in Nascar, is realistic enough to know that being first - in a single race, never mind the championship - next year is going to be incredibly difficult.
But that doesn’t stop him from having long-term ambitions to compete with the best.
“There’s maybe four, five, six years of just learning the sport and learning how to build the cars. And maybe if we’re lucky enough, say five-ten years from now, maybe we’ll win a race and you never know, maybe possibly win a championship.
“I’m not saying we can do that but that would be very similar to what we did in Nascar.”
Breaking into the motorsport elite is no small task though. Various teams have tried and failed, with Caterham going bankrupt last year and Marussia having to reform as Manor after administration.
That is where the link-up with Ferrari as a partner could prove significant. The Italian garage is not only providing an engine but as many parts of the car as are allowed by the rules.
“I think Ferrari really adds that stability that other (new) teams were lacking,” Haas said. “They know racing, they understand the cars and they’re going to basically give us the blue print of how you race these cars. And that’s so fundamental to F1 racing.”
The approach has drawn praise from outsiders, including Toto Wolff, head of motorsport at two-time world champions Mercedes.
“I think there is a possibility for various models - the Haas model is clearly a very intelligent way of entering Formula One,” he said recently.
Haas is careful to stress that the project, even with experienced rather than novice drivers coming in, cannot be judged on next year alone.
“I don’t think anyone can grow an oak tree without a seed, you’ve got to start somewhere. Our seed just happens to be a little bit bigger than some of the other teams,” he said.

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