Esteban Gutierrez has strongly criticised Haas for a string of reliability gremlins which he argues, have hidden his qualities as a driver thus far.
Gutierrez, who has returned a race seat in 2016 following a year as Ferrari’s reserve driver, is yet to score a point this season. Meanwhile, teammate Romain Grosjean has earned plaudits for his fifth and sixth place finishes in the opening two rounds of the season.
After being involved in Fernando Alonso’s terrifying accident in Australia, Gutierrez endured a mechanical failure in Bahrain and was involved in the first lap antics which compromised numerous drivers in Russia.
His reliability frustrations have been compounded by numerous issues affecting his practice mileage, including an electrical fault which left him marooned in the garage for the majority of FP2 on Friday in Spain.
“I honestly put myself aside from this because it’s not really my responsibility to fix the car,” Gutierrez stated. “The team has to get on top of this.
“I am here to drive, to drive as fast as possible and it is what I really love doing. It’s not nice because it’s making me look very bad to the outside as a driver, personally.
“All the f*****g great job I’m doing on the inside is not really perceived by the outside. So it’s a little bit frustrating on that side, and also showing my pace.”
It was a difficult day for Haas on both sides of the garage, with Grosjean declaring the car a “disaster” at low speed and later adding that it was “undriveable.”
Haas are still a fledgling F1 outfit. Since Bahrain, their early pace has escaped them and added to the frustrations of unreliability. However, given the complexities of the car, teething troubles for a new team are anticipated.
Both Gutierrez and Grosjean will hope that their comments can drive the team forward. However, they could easily prove counter-productive and serve to create and atmosphere of negativity within the garage.
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