Esteban Gutierrez

Jerez de la Frontera, Spain – Filled with proud for being the youngest Mexican driver to test a Formula One car at the age of 18 years and 118 days old, Monterrey born driver Esteban Manuel Gutierrez Gutierrez saw one of his dreams come true after finishing an historic test in the most important motorsport series of the world with team BMW Sauber.

He arrived at the track before 8 am for fine tuning the details of his test, which started at 9 and lasted until 4 pm. He was able to make 68 laps with a best lap time of 1:20.190.

Gutierrez tested several components throughout the day, following indications from the team, always relaxed and enjoying every minute of it.

The team devoted their time to the young driver, who in turn gave his best attitude, availability and professionalism to face the challenge. Driving a Formula One car was not the only important thing for the Mexican driver, but also getting to spend time with the team members and the learning that came out of the experience.

Esteban will be again at the track tomorrow as an observer of the last day of testing; that will conclude this very important event and after it he will continue working on his plans for the 2010 season, which are yet to be defined.

“This has been a very special day and it represents a very important step in my career. I have to say that every minute was very intense and that is what makes the experience so demanding; that is why my physical and mental preparation were so important,” said Esteban.

“We are very happy because we were able to meet our goal of getting the most out of this test and enjoy it at the same time. I thank the team for their work and availability. I thank God for giving me the opportunity to live this experience, to represent my country with pride. We will never forget this experience and the learning we took out of it, we will remember this day for the rest of our life,” remarked the Mexican driver.
 

Results of Day 2 of Testing-Wednesday, Dec. 2nd:

1 - Gary Paffett (McLaren-Mercedes) - 1:18.718 - 80
2 - Nico Hulkenberg (Williams-Toyota) - 1:19.184 - 94
3 - Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull-Renault) - 1:19.243 - 94
4 - Paul Di Resta (Force India) - 1:19.411 - 58
5 - Esteban Gutierrez (Sauber-BMW) - 1:20.190 - 68
6 - Mike Conway (Mercedes GP) - 1:20.222 - 83
7 - Marcus Ericsson (Mercedes GP) - 1:20.440 - 37
8 - JR Hildebrand (Force India) - 1:20.517 - 50
9 - Jules Bianchi (Ferrari) - 1:20.586 - 113
10 - Lucas Di Grassi (Renault) - 1:20.898 - 55
11 - Ho-Pin Tung (Renault) - 1:21.492 - 67
12 - Mirko Bortolotti (Toro Rosso-Ferrari) - 1:21.761 - 79