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Gutierrez feels Haas delay hurts chances of F1 seat

Esteban Gutierrez believes the delay in Haas naming its driver line-up for 2017 has hurt his chances of securing a seat in F1 next year.

Kevin Magnussen will join Haas in 2017, leaving Gutierrez without a drive at present. With an announcement still to be made, Magnussen's move will follow confirmation of Esteban Ocon's switch to Force India and Jolyon Palmer's contract extension at Renault.

With many seats now taken, Gutierrez says the delay in a decision from Haas leaves him with few options elsewhere on the grid.

“I mean we are in November with two races to go, so it’s probably a bit late to take the decision but it’s their team and it’s not really in my hands," Gutierrez said. "I mean I’ve been doing my best all through the year, no matter what the circumstances were, which I think all of you are aware. It hasn’t been an easy year and I will keep doing the same way until the end.”

While he appears resigned to losing his seat, Gutierrez says he still believes there is a slight chance Haas could retain him.

“Well I think it’s very clear that a decision will be made very soon. My future is in the teams hands. At the moment there is a lot of talks up and down but it is the way it is. They’ve taken a bit long to take the decision and hopefully it comes out positively. I’m going to pushing and fighting until the end.”

Asked if he has spoken to any other teams, Gutierrez replied: “I think on Monday will be the time to think about it.

"Right now it is important to focus on the weekend. Obviously through the weekend there is going to be a lot of talks but that’s how it is, accepting the situation and move forward."

And the Mexican says it will not be the end of the world if he is to lose his place in F1 at the end of the season.

“Well concerned, yes and no. Whatever the outcome is nothing will change as a person, so nobody is dying, that’s the most important thing. Let’s see what the outcome is going to be, hopefully it’s going to be positive and just keep going forward. That’s life."

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.