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| Sauber F1 Team signs Esteban Gutierrez to driver alongside Nico Hulkenberg while Caterham F1 Team signs Charles Pic to drive for them |
In a recent announcement the Sauber F1 team announced that reserve
and test driver will secure the second race seat of
the team. The 21-year old will partner Nico Hulkenberg who moved from the Sahara Force
India team to the Swiss squad last month. The team also signed Dutchman Robin Frijns as
their new test and reserve driver.
“Esteban has already been part of the team for a long time and
we have followed his career very closely,” said Team Principal Monisha
Kaltenborn. “In 2010 we signed him up as an affiliated driver,
and in 2011 and 2012 he was our test and reserve driver. We mapped out his path to Formula
One step by step. Esteban has great talent and now he’s ready to take the
leap.”
“It will be a great pleasure to be racing in the same team as
an experienced driver like Nico Hülkenberg. He will be a good reference point for me
and will push me to adapt quickly to F1 competition so we can develop the car together
with the team in the best way,” Gutierrez said.
With Hulkenberg replacing Sergio Perez and Esteban’s contract
with Sauber, leaves current driver Kamui Kobayashi, who has been with the team since the
2010 season, without a race seat for 2013.
Meanwhile, race seats of Heikki nKovalainen and Vitaly Petrov
also seem under jeopardy after the Caterham team announced Charles Pic as their first
signing. The French driver was signed for Marussia at the same time this year before the
2011 Brazilian Grand Prix and the Interlagos paddock once again was the backdrop for a new
beginning, as Caterham announced that they had inked a multi-year deal with the current
Marussia driver.
"Throughout the 2012 season we have been monitoring the progress that
Charles has made, challenging us on several occasions in qualifying, and it is clear that
he is a special talent,” continued Abiteboul. “As the year has progressed he
has performed extremely well against a very experienced team mate and we are looking
forward to seeing him develop further within the environment we will provide in 2013 and
beyond.
Petrov and Kovalainen are yet to find a race seat for 2013 while
Caterham also has to confirm Pic’s team-mate for the upcoming season. Pic will drive
for Marussia for the last time in this weekend’s Brazilian Grand Prix, post which
his spot at the Banbury-based team will also be up for grabs.
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