Sauber has confirmed Esteban Gutierrez will partner Adrian Sutil for the 2014 Formula One season.
The Mexican’s future was in doubt but the Swiss team has announced he will continue for another campaign.
The news comes just a week after the confirmation that Force India refugee Sutil will replace former Sauber team leader Nico Hulkenberg.
As a result of Gutierrez’s new deal, young Russian, Sergey Sirotkin, who had been promoted to a 2014 race seat during the summer, will revert to being a test driver with the outfit.
After two years as a test driver for Sauber, 22-year-old, Gutierrez, was promoted to a race seat for last season.
The former GP2 racer endured a challenging debut year in motor racing’s top tier scoring points only once with a seventh place finish at the Japanese Grand Prix.
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“I am happy to be able to continue as a driver for the Sauber F1 Team”, said Gutierrez.
“It was a steep learning curve last season, but by working closely with the team I was able to improve continuously.
“It will be my fourth year with the team, the second as a racing driver, and I feel comfortable in taking the next step. The technical challenges in 2014 will be massive.
“Therefore it will be even more important to know well the people you are working with. I will do my very best to improve even more and support the team the best way I can.”
Team Principal Monisha Kaltenborn revealed she has been pleased with Gutierrez’s progress in his debut season but is expecting stronger results in 2014.
“Last season he experienced first hand how hard it can be for a rookie to step into Formula One”, said Kaltenborn.
“Nevertheless, throughout the season he improved significantly in qualifying as well as in the races and finished the year as the best rookie in the drivers’ championship.
“Often the results didn’t fully reflect his performances. I am confident Esteban will be able to use his experiences to gain results, and this will be helped by the fact he is very well acquainted with every member of the race team.”
With Sauber confirming Gutierrez, it is now increasingly unlikely that Paul Di Resta will continue in Formula One after losing his seat at Force India.
