Gutierrez confirms talks with Sauber and Manor

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Esteban Gutierrez says he has already opened talks with Sauber and Manor over vacant seats at each team for the 2017 F1 season.

Having been part of the Haas line-up this year, Gutierrez was informed he would be leaving the team during the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend, with Kevin Magnussen replacing him alongside Romain Grosjean.

With Force India, Renault and Haas all confirming their 2017 line-ups in the days leading up to the race at Interlagos, Gutierrez is only left with race seats available at Sauber and Manor, with both teams yet to announce either of its drivers. Ahead of confirming his departure from Haas, the Mexican driver felt the delay had hurt his chances of securing a seat elsewhere on the grid.

Having been seen in conversation with Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn in the Interlagos paddock on Sunday morning and also visiting the team's garage, Gutierrez confirmed to F1i the meeting was about next season.

"You know what the two options are that are available, so we are in talks with them," Gutierrez said. "Nothing is really decided yet but I think in the next week we will see some progress."

Asked if he has been speaking to Manor as well as Sauber, Gutierrez replied: "Yes, as well."

Gutierrez has previously suggested he has options outside of F1 for next season, but it is understood his preference is to secure a race seat at either Sauber or Manor, having previously been a Sauber driver in 2013 and 2014.

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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.