#21 | Esteban Gutierrez | Sauber

Date of Birth: 05/08/1991 | Nationality: Mexican | Twitter: @EstebanGtz

Career:

Gutierrez enjoyed a successful junior formula career as he won titles in Formula BMW and became the inaugural GP3 champion in 2010. He stepped up to GP2 in 2011 and while he won races, he was never in contention for the title and occasionally erred with some erratic driving.

His partnership with Sauber began at the end of 2009 when he first tested for the team and he stepped into the car in 2010 and again in 2011. He made his practice debut in India in 2012 and was promoted to a race seat for 2013.

His rookie season began badly as Sauber struggled for downforce and Gutierrez frequently drove above his limits in a bid to impress. He crashed out of qualifying in Australia and had first lap incidents in China and Bahrain that blunted his challenge.

An alternative strategy allowed him to briefly lead the Spanish Grand Prix and set the race's fastest lap, although he duly finished the race outside of the points. He spent most of the mid-season running on the fringes of the top 10 but he gradually improved his pace and, allied to an increased self-belief, the Mexican emerged from the summer break in a stronger position.

Misfortune in Belgium hindered his progress while combative performances in Singapore and Korea went unrewarded, whereas he could have scored points in all three of those events. However, a measured drive in Japan finally netted him his first points of his career as he came home in seventh, having defended against Nico Rosberg during the final stint of the race. He remains with Sauber for a second season in the sport.