A difficult start to his F1 career has put Mexican Esteban Gutierrez in a difficult position at Sauber. But he needn't worry, team boss Monisha Kaltenborn is not ready to drop the axe on him.
The team did acknowledged its 2013 car, the Sauber-Ferrari C32, is lacking pace. But it doesn't hide the fact the former GP2 winner has failed to score in four races because his teammate Nico Hulkenberg has amassed five points in the same span of time.
Gutierrez's best result is a 12th position.
"A lot has to do with the performance of the car," insists Kaltenborn, the first female team principal in F1, on Autosport.com. "We have no doubts about his mental capabilities to get on top of things and understand them."
Instead, Kaltenborn wants to focus on helping her struggling driver, for now at least. If Gutierrez doesn't improve, she might then be forced to take action in order to save the team some financial troubles.
"We need to try to focus on get that potential out because we know it's there," Kaltenborn promised. "But at the same time we know as a team we don't have many chances, and whatever you do in a season can have a straight impact on your finances for the future."
The team did acknowledged its 2013 car, the Sauber-Ferrari C32, is lacking pace. But it doesn't hide the fact the former GP2 winner has failed to score in four races because his teammate Nico Hulkenberg has amassed five points in the same span of time.
Gutierrez's best result is a 12th position.
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| Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber-Ferrari C32 (Photo: WRi2) |
"A lot has to do with the performance of the car," insists Kaltenborn, the first female team principal in F1, on Autosport.com. "We have no doubts about his mental capabilities to get on top of things and understand them."
Instead, Kaltenborn wants to focus on helping her struggling driver, for now at least. If Gutierrez doesn't improve, she might then be forced to take action in order to save the team some financial troubles.
"We need to try to focus on get that potential out because we know it's there," Kaltenborn promised. "But at the same time we know as a team we don't have many chances, and whatever you do in a season can have a straight impact on your finances for the future."