Esteban Gutierrez becomes Ferrari’s new test and reserve driver for next season, the Italian outfit confirmed.
The former Sauber driver, along with Adrian Sutil, lost his seat at the team, towards the back end of last season and were replaced by Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson.
Gutierrez however will still attend races in 2015 in the guise of the Scuderia’s test driver and deputising for either former world champions Sebastian Vettel or Kimi Raikkonen.
“It is an honour to become part of the Scuderia Ferrari family, a team with such an exceptional history,” said the Mexican
“It is the beginning of a new path for my future and I’m going to do my utmost to contribute to the achievement of the targets set by the Scuderia.
“I want to thank everybody for their belief in my potential; this will bring a great opportunity for me to develop further and get to the top in the near future.”
Ferrari team boss Maurizio Arrivabene sees the appointment of Gutierrez as vital for conducting development work for the team and their Formula 1 cars.
“We are pleased to be able to offer this opportunity to Esteban who, although young, has plenty of experience relating to the new generation of Formula One cars,” Arrivabene said.
“I am sure that, with his experience, he will make an important contribution to the development work of the team in the simulator. Welcoming Esteban also means opening the gates of Ferrari to a driver from Mexico, a country where the Scuderia still has a lot of fans, just as was the case fifty years ago in the days of the Rodriguez brothers.”
