Esteban Gutierrez

Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium – A significant improvement at the start gave Mexican driver Esteban Manuel Gutierrez Gutierrez the opportunity to place himself in the top ten on this Friday’s British Formula 3 International race.

Starting from 18th on the grid, the young driver of the French team ART Grand Prix managed to gain seven positions on the first corner to eventually finish the race sixth, despite a damaged front wing caused by a contact with another car.

The team decided to leave Esteban out and not change the wing, which made the car difficult to drive, however, he continued to gain race positions and finished without more trouble.

The qualifying session for tomorrow’s race was held under a light rain. Esteban qualified tenth fastest, but later on the team was penalized because, not knowing that the British F3 International rules require that a part made by Dallara be placed on the front wing, the team used one of their own and therefore Esteban and his teammates will start from the back of the grid.

“I was able to improve my starting technique for the race and moved up seven positions at the first corner. There was a race incident in which my front wing was damaged, but the team decided to leave me out without changing it. It was difficult to finish the race, but luckily enough I managed to move up even more positions and to finish the race sixth."

“Many things happened today. Qualifying conditions were difficult because it was raining at first and then the track got better at the end of the session. Unfortunately we were disqualified as a team and my teammates and I will have to start the race from the back of the grid. The reason is simply that a part of the front wing was not from the required manufacturer”.

“I feel grateful with the team because we managed to solve some of the problems we had yesterday. For tomorrow I expect a fun race and I will give my best to do an intelligent race", commented Esteban after the race.

Results - Round 13, Spa-Francorchamps (BEL),
12 laps / 84.04 km

1 INT Daniel Ricciardo/AUS, Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen, 32m 06.562s / 97.44mph
2 INV Jules Bianchi/FRA, ART Dallara-Mercedes, +1.509s
3 INV Valtteri Bottas/FIN, ART Dallara-Mercedes, +8.869s
4 INT Renger van der Zande/NED, Hitech Dallara-Mercedes, +9.817s
5 INV Jake Rosenzweig/USA, Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen, +19.529s
6 INV Esteban Gutierrez/MEX, ART Dallara-Mercedes, +25.945s
7 INT Victor Garcia/ESP, Fortec Dallara-Mercedes, +28.523s
8 INT Max Chilton/GBR, Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen, +28.817s
9 INT Hywel Lloyd/GBR, CF Racing Dallara-Mugen Honda, +32.725s
10 INT Philip Major/CDN, Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen, +34.542s
11 INT Henry Arundel/GBR, Carlin Dallara-Volkswagen, +38.070s
12 INT Jay Bridger/GBR, Litespeed Mygale-Mugen Honda, +38.531s
13 INT Stephane Richelmi/MON, Barazi Epsilon Dallara-Mercedes, +38.689s
14 NAT Daniel McKenzie/GBR, Fortec Dallara-Mugen Honda, +39.837s
15 INT Kevin Chen/TPE, Hitech Dallara-Mercedes, +52.721s
16 INV Nicolas Marroc/FRA, Racing Experience Dallara-Mercedes, +1m 11.237s
17 INT Carlos Huertas/COL, RR Dallara-Mercedes, +1m 12.424s
18 NAT Victor Correa/BRA, Litespeed-Mugen Honda, +1m 13.323s
19 INT Adriano Buzaid/BRA, T-Sport Dallara-Volkswagen, +1m 24.505s
20 NAT Gabriel Dias/BRA, T-Sport Dallara-Mugen Honda, +1m 39.575s

DID NOT FINISH
INT Wayne Boyd/GBR, T-Sport Dallara-Volkswagen, 9 laps
INT Riki Christodoulou/GBR, Fortec Dallara-Mercedes, 0 laps
INT Daisuke Nakajima/JPN, RR Dallara-Mercedes, 0 laps
INT Walter Grubmüller/AUT, Hitech Dallara-Mercedes, 0 laps

FASTEST LAPS
INV Bianchi 2m 14.254s / 116.70mph
INT Ricciardo 2m 15.046s / 116.01mph
NAT McKenzie 2m 17.109s / 114.27mph

Circuit´s Website: www.spa-francorchamps.be
Track Length: 7.003 km
Lap Record British Formula 3 International: 2:15.140 min / Jonathan Kennard GB / Dallara F307 Mercedes
Races: Sat: 13 laps o 30 min

For more information about Esteban Gutierrez, the ART Grand Prix team, the Formula 3 Euroseries, or his sponsors Multigama, DeAcero, Telmex, Alpinestars and Bell, please visit their official websites at: www.estebangtz.com, www.art-grandprix.com, www.f3euroseries.com, www.deacero.com, www.telmex.com, www.alpinestars.com, www.bellsports.com.