In an interview with the media today, Sauber driver Esteban Gutierrez is adamant that Sauber is not his only option for next season although staying with the team is his priority.
Gutierrez made his F1 debut in 2013 with Sauber, scoring six points in his one and only top-ten result. His second season in Formula One with Sauber has yet to get off the mark as Sauber have struggled with their C33.
But despite the team’s woes, Gutierrez is keen to stay on for another season. In his interview with the media today, Gutierrez stated the following on the subject:
‘It’s one of my priorities [to stay with Sauber next year]. I have other opportunities [within Formula 1] which are also attractive but in the next two or three weeks let’s see what happens.’
From what Gutierrez has stated today, it is clear that his main priority is to stay with the Sauber team for next season even though he believes he has a variety of other options on the grid that are open to him. But as he says himself, all he can do is wait and see how the driver market develops and where is the best option for him to drive for next season.
However, there have been rumours of late that Gutierrez or even his team-mate Adrian Sutil could step aside for test driver Giedo van der Garde as the team seeks their first point of the championship. Further on in his interview with the media, Gutierrez added the following regarding the matter:
‘I don’t feel threatened. He has his role and he is doing his best within his role. He’s also a good guy who I get along with well. I have nothing against it. It’s something that doesn’t bother me.
‘I’m really focused on my work with the team and engineers. We’ve been doing good progress in the last few races. It’s something that needs to be considered that I’ve been working with this team for years.’
Even though rumours about van der Garde have been circulating for quite some time, it is clear that Gutierrez feels confident about his position in the team and also the job he is doing for them too. It is nice to hear that Gutierrez and his praise for van der Garde and the important role he has within the Sauber team and he doesn’t hold anything against him regarding these rumours and rightly so.
Gutierrez sums up my opinion on this situation very nicely. Gutierrez needs to ensure that he does his job to the best that he can, by working with the team and the engineers in order to improve and extract more pace from the car. It is clear that within the two years he has been with Sauber, he has built up a working relationship that appears to be working with both sides stating over the season that they are happy with each other.
And does have to count for something as Gutierrez says. But that doesn’t mean that his future in the Sauber team is safe. Gutierrez for the remainder of the season needs to his very best to ensure that he puts himself in the best possible position to stay at Sauber for 2015. And if that cannot happen for whatever reason, ensure that he looks at the ‘other options’ that he believes are open to him and choose the best option for himself.
But in my opinion, I do think that Gutierrez might just stay at the Sauber team for next season. And I feel that the money that he brings will be a crucial factor to him staying for the team. But all we can do is wait and see what happens with negotiations regarding his contract over the next few weeks and wait for an announcement.
Sarah Jones (@jonesy_laaa)
