Gutierrez: I know I push blue flag limits

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Esteban Gutierrez says he knows he pushes the limits when obeying blue flags as he is seeking to lose as little time as possible.

The Haas driver was criticised by Toto Wolff following the Singapore Grand Prix, who felt Gutierrez had interfered in the lead battle between Nico Rosberg and Daniel Ricciardo late in the race. Haas team principal Guenther Steiner defended his driver after being made aware of Wolff's comments, and Gutierrez says both sides are looking to gain a competitive advantage from the situation.

"I’m going to reply very simple," Gutierrez said. "The same way that Toto is trying to lose the list of possible blue flag drivers, and trying to put pressure on the FIA to be stricter on that and to lose less time, in the same way, me as a driver getting the blue flag, I’m trying to lose the least time possible within the rules and without affecting anyone. So the same thing that he is doing I am doing it as well.

"It doesn’t bother me at all. It won’t change anything, we have a fantastic relationship Toto and myself, for many many years back, when we bump into each other we will have a nice chat."

Asked how far he can push the blue flag limit, Gutierrez replied: "In Budapest I went a bit too far, and I know where the limit is, so I’m playing with the line.

"Obviously every team principal wants their driver to be as quick as possible, so that’s what I will do and I want it for myself as well because I was fighting for a position. Whether they compare me with other drivers I don’t really care, because I’m focussing on my own race and trying to do my own thing."

Calling his management of the blue flags in Singapore "spot on", Gutierrez says Wolff did not appreciate how hard he was pushing at the end of the race.

"I think I didn’t affect anyone, I didn’t lose time myself and I finished in front of Felipe, so that was the target I was pushing like you have no idea the whole race. Obviously, when you get a blue flag you want to lose the least time possible. I know that Toto said that I was cruising around, so obviously he hasn’t driven a Formula 1 car, because it wasn’t the case."

And Gutierrez is not concerned about his reputation being damaged by the number of comments regarding the topic.

"I don’t see it as a danger I see it as a positive because it’s more publicity, I have to thank them for the publicity they give me!"

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.