Esteban Gutierrez has confirmed he will leave Haas at the end of the season after one year at the team.
The Mexican driver returned to Formula One with Haas at the beginning of this season. However he has failed to score a point this year while team mate Romain Grosjean has amassed 29.
“Dear friends, I want to share with you that I will no longer be with Haas F1 Team for next season,” Gutierrez posted on social media.
“I want to thank all the team and staff, [especially] Gene Haas for this opportunity to work with them. I wish them all the best. There are two races left, which I intend to enjoy to the fullest and as always, I’ll give my best.”
“Special thanks to all my fans and supporters, you will always have a place in my heart.”
“I hope to shortly share my plans for the future. Warm regards!”
Reports have claimed Kevin Magnussen will take the second seat at Haas next year.
2017 F1 season
- Sepang pays Haas compensation for Grosjean’s 2017 crash
- Williams revenues rose in 2017 after Bottas deal with Mercedes
- Australian Grand Prix cost government £56 million last year
- “Grand Prix Driver” takes you inside McLaren’s nightmare final year with Honda
- Undisputed champion: 10 titles name Hamilton top driver of 2017
Hemz Shaw (@hemzshaw)
11th November 2016, 10:37
He just had his best race performance ever, and then to go away like this – has to be a tough gulp.
pSynrg (@psynrg)
11th November 2016, 10:44
I think the standard of that performance should explain everything. If that’s his best, then maybe it’s time to give ovals a go.
Nigel
11th November 2016, 13:41
+1
Fer no.65 (@fer-no65)
11th November 2016, 10:47
Good. He looked promising but never really made you think “now here’s a good driver!”.
I didn’t think he deserved another shot this year to be honest
Neel Jani (@neelv27)
11th November 2016, 10:55
A case of a quick driver jumping into F1 too soon. I won’t say he is a world champion material but a driver with decent pace. Won GP3 and finished 3rd in GP2 but it’d done him good to spend a season more in the lower formula.
He has shown flashes of speed during his Sauber and Haas days however this year he has really irked quite a few fans with his attitude off track.
Manor seems his only hope. I not particularly sad to see him go just like Maldonado and Sutil.
Neel Jani (@neelv27)
11th November 2016, 10:56
One extra mention @keithcollantine for always picking up the most apt cover photos for the articles :)
Sravan Krishnan (@sravan-pe)
11th November 2016, 11:21
Those were my first thoughts :p
Todfod (@todfod)
11th November 2016, 12:07
I don’t remember any incident of him irking fans off track.
I just remember him being terrible at handling blue flag situations
David (@wushumr2)
11th November 2016, 14:44
I remember Will Buxton singing his praises back when he was just a GP3 driver. He was definitely good, but it seems like it never quite comes together for him. I heard from a recent podcast that Sergio Perez is in fact not too hot at car setup. It wouldn’t surprise me if Gutierrez isn’t the best at that either, and a fairly tricky car is just getting away from him. It might have been the same back at Sauber, although I do remember being in the stands for China 2013 when Gutierrez just went straight into the back of another car in the run down to turn 1. I think he just gets a tiny bit more nerves than the other drivers, and that ultimately spells doom for a driver.
HK (@me4me)
11th November 2016, 11:12
In my opinion probably the worst driver on the grid. Its only right for him to leave F1 for new talent to enter.
F1 in Figures (@f1infigures)
11th November 2016, 13:20
F1 metrics agrees with you. His rookie year was maybe even his best year.
Hugh (@hugh11)
11th November 2016, 11:20
Only got 6 points, in 1 points finish over 3 years, compared to his team-mates getting 80 so far. Never really clicked for him, looked good in the support series, but can’t remember a race where I thought he deserves a seat in F1.
Kgn11
11th November 2016, 11:29
Blue flag, blue flag.
hoshino (@hoshino)
11th November 2016, 12:14
American team is getting rid of a Mexican driver, what a coincidence.
Christos (@christosts)
11th November 2016, 13:02
lol
jamiejay (@jamiejay995)
11th November 2016, 13:13
Donald Trump is replacing Esteban Gutierrez with Alexander Rossi. And in other news Hass reveals their new sponsor American Bricks.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
11th November 2016, 13:27
The thing is, when both drivers have finished, Gutierrez has finished ahead more often. He also retired from the race when the teams was at it’s strongest. Both of the races where Grosjean was 6th and 5th, Gutierrez had to retire through no fault of his own. It seems that often when the car is bad and doesn’t suit the track, that is when Gutierrez performs better that Grosjean. But by now, he really should have had at least a few points. People may be shocked by me saying this, but I wouldn’t say Grosjean is a huge amount better than Gutierrez. Certainly better, but as there have been plenty of occasions where Gutierrez finished higher up in the race than his team mate, he is certainly better at times. It just seems that when the car is actually decent, Grosjean can outperform him by quite a long way.
I heard that a weekend or two ago, he said that he would be in F1 next year, but just didn’t say what team. I don’t think he will be quite as bad as people think. Why would Ferrari have had him as a reserve driver if there wasn’t anything special about him? He’s certainly not the best but I wouldn’t mind at all him having another chance with a different team next year.
Philip (@philipgb)
11th November 2016, 14:03
I’ve always seen that spark in the way Grosjean drives that makes me think potential great driver. 2013 especially. Beginning of this year he banged out some impressive performances but he’s been nowhere of late. I don’t know if it’s the car the blame or if FOM just isn’t showing footage but I’m having trouble remembering anything he’s done since Austria.
Ben Rowe (@thegianthogweed)
11th November 2016, 14:31
Yes, I think that Grosjean is just not doing as well as he used to. I’m sure he’ll get back to that level again though. However, what we don’t know is that if Gutierrez got given another chance, he may suddenly come across much better. We will never no if we don’t see that.
x303 (@x303)
12th November 2016, 2:28
Grosjean is a very sensitive driver: if the car suits him, he will be fast. If the car doesn’t, he will struggle. Like Raikkonen for example.
Unlike Alonso who can be fast whatever the car is.
Tristan
11th November 2016, 16:09
Haven’t been paying attention, he pulled another point at COTA and a few near misses to more recently. Had a big slump in the middle of the season though.
hahostolze (@hahostolze)
11th November 2016, 14:58
Thank you. This is one seriously unlucky and underestimated driver. Shame for him, having to leave F1.
WheelToWheel (@lolzerbob)
11th November 2016, 15:56
@hahostolze
I agree! He has been equal with Grosjean, who many thought should have had the Ferrari drive. Guti may have been underwhelming, but he deserved another season and IMO has been better than K-Mag who will get the seat.
Tristan
11th November 2016, 16:13
I also agree, he’s been a good driver and I would have liked to see these two mature as team-mates for another year as they certainly seem to have been pushing each other well.
That people here are calling him worst driver on the grid really means they haven’t been paying attention at all.
Nigel
11th November 2016, 13:50
Surprised he actually lasted this long in a sport that should be for elite drivers. Simply put he was never good enough.
montreal95 (@montreal95)
11th November 2016, 13:57
Hope he’s off to a championship which better suits his talent level. He seems a decent guy but he never struck me as a potential star on an F1 level. He can have sudden bursts of speed but it’s like a fata morgana, a desert illusion easily broken up by a random gust of wind. Maybe he can go to Indycar to become Sato’s doppelganger
Philip (@philipgb)
11th November 2016, 13:59
If only he responded to blue flags as promptly.
Haribo
11th November 2016, 15:21
Although it’s been said that the statistics do Gutierrez a disservice to him, I believe it is the right decision by Haas to let him go. My issue with Gutierrez is that his season largely consisted of him almost delivering, but almost does not put points on the board, at some point he had to start actually getting results which he failed to do.
If Gutierrez was a rookie, then I would not be against offering him a second chance, however this is his third season and he just hasn’t shown any real improvement over the course of his F1 career. He can bring the car home but is largely incapable of scoring points, such a driver is no good to a midfield team in a tight battle in the constructors championship; not with the importance of winning extra prize money.
Adam (@rocketpanda)
11th November 2016, 17:47
I never understood why anyone would hire him after how badly Hulkenberg destroyed him at Sauber. Sure the car was terrible, and he was a rookie, but he always seemed a little out of his depth – maybe jumped up to F1 a little too early?
He’s always looked not quite there, or not ‘quite’ on the pace as everyone else. Decent enough, but missing that last bit. Maybe he just wasn’t good enough?