Esteban Gutierrez believes his performances were not fairly evaluated by Haas after they decided against extending the Mexican’s contract beyond the current season.
It had become increasingly likely in recent months that Gutierrez would not be with the American team in 2017 and after rumours of Kevin Magnussen’s imminent arrival at the team surfaced earlier in the week, his departure was all but a certainty.
Gutierrez has failed to score a single point this season compared to his teammate’s tally of 29 but he still feels bad luck is to blame for many of his poor results, particularly in the early stages of the season.
Motorsport.com asked if he understood the reasoning behind Haas’s decision not to extend his contract to which he replied: “No, I don’t. I think you know that the performance is there. There were a lot of situations that were not really under my control.
“At the end of the day, I respect the decision because it’s their team. It’s what they want to do, but on the other hand, it’s not a fair way how they put it in general, because, as you know, at the start of the season it wasn’t ideal.
“There were a lot of mechanical problems. As a new team, there were a lot of things going, a lot of mistakes. There were some mistakes from my side as well, but it was more from the team.
“I don’t think I was evaluated the right way. I respect it, but I don’t necessarily agree with it,”
After having to settle for a reserve drive with Ferrari in 2015, Gutierrez is keen not to find himself in that position again as he targets a race seat ideally in Formula One but only if it makes sense.
“My priority is staying in F1, but it has to make sense as a plan for the future, not only to stay driving but to have something that makes sense,” he said.
“There are a few options, but preferably I want to drive. Keep driving is the most important.
With only Sauber and Manor yet to confirm their full driver lineups for the 2017 season Gutierrez is running out of options and he knows making a decision quickly is just as important as making the right decision in an ever changing paddock.
“I will make a decision soon because it’s important to know as soon as possible. It’s not going to be an easy choice, but let’s see.”
Despite options closing around him, he was pretty confident when asked about his chances of being a Formula One driver next season: “If I put a number, around 70 percent,” he claimed.
