Official: Gutierrez to start and Frijns as reserve driver for Sauber in 2013
The Sauber-Ferrari team took advantage of the Brazilian Grand Prix weekend to announce its full driver lineup for the 2013 season. Young Mexican Esteban Gutierrez will support Nico Hülkenberg as a main driver, while Dutchman Robin Frijns becomes the third driver.
What had been a persistent rumor for several weeks has just been made official: Esteban Gutierrez becomes the second Sauber-Ferrari driver for the 2013 season. He thus joins the ranks of the Swiss team alongside Nico Hülkenberg.
Thursday during the day, it was a blundering Sergio Pérez who announced the news at a press conference, thus stealing Sauber’s thunder: « The car will be good because the regulations don’t change much, and the team will have a good experienced driver with Nico, and the latter will have a good teammate with Esteban Gutierrez. »
The Swiss team has followed Pérez’s lead and confirmed today the young Mexican driver, recently fourth in the GP2 championship, who is obviously thrilled with this news: After three years of work with Sauber, I am very grateful for all the attention I have received from all the team members and for all their help that has gradually allowed me to become a Formula 1 driver. Now, having experienced other racing categories before Formula 1, this is the start of a true challenge to succeed at the pinnacle of motorsport.
For its part, the Sauber team, through Monisha Kaltenborn, is convinced that the 21-year-old Mexican is ready to make his Formula 1 debut: « Esteban has already been part of the team for a long time, and we have followed his career very closely. In 2010, we signed him as an affiliated driver, and in 2011 and 2012, he was our reserve driver. We have mapped out his path to Formula 1, step by step. »
But this announcement does not make everyone happy. Indeed, the signing of Gutierrez means that Kamui Kobayashi sees the doors of the Swiss team closed for next season. Kaltenborn also wanted to pay tribute to the work of the Japanese driver: « Over the past three years, Kamui has shown us that he is not only a formidable competitor on the track but also a wonderful and fantastic person for the team. Every member of our team has the greatest respect for him, and his podium in Japan was a particularly moving moment for all of us. It was not an easy decision for us to make, but we are committed to a fresh start, and our collaboration with Kamui will end after this final Grand Prix of the season, and we wish him all the best for the future. »
Moreover, Sauber took the opportunity to announce its complete lineup for the 2013 season with the recruitment of Robin Frijns as a test and reserve driver.
The 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 world champion wants to fully take advantage of the opportunity offered to him: « I am very happy that the Sauber team has given me this opportunity. I want to thank Monisha Kaltenborn and Peter Sauber for the trust they have in me. Thanks to this opportunity, I will try to help the team as much as possible and have the chance to learn how Formula 1 works, in an extremely professional environment. I am already very eager for the 2013 season to start! »
Monisha Kaltenbron and Sauber also have confidence in the young Dutchman’s abilities: « We have been monitoring Robin’s career for a while, it was easy to spot his potential. That is why we gave him the chance to drive the C31 in Abu Dhabi. He succeeded very well in this endeavor. We will now carefully guide him towards Formula 1. It’s a long road, but Robin has the skills to do it successfully. »
