F1weekly podcast # 431

Maestro from Monterrey

Feature Interview: Esteban Gutierrez. Mas Rapido from Mexico

Man with the smile is Esteban Gutierrez, fresh from his victory in the GP3 race at Istanbul last Saturday, and now leading the championship in its inaugural season.

The young man from Monterrey started his motor racing career in grand style in Salt Lake City, in the 2007 Formula BMW US series, by taking pole positions for the first two races of his career. Since then he has been pepper quick, claiming Rookie of the Year honors before crossing the pond and drowning the competition in the 2008 Formula BMW Europe Championship with seven wins, six of them on the trot.

Josef Kaufmann ran both Nico Hulkenberg and Gutierrez in Formula BMW Europe and says Gutierrez is as quick as the German.

This is good news for motorsports fans south of the border as they have been waiting since the 1970 Belgian Grand Prix for a Mexican winner in Formula 1.

After a tough season in F3 Euro Series last year Gutierrez and his ART team, headed by Nicholas Todt, took the decision to enter the newly created GP3, the official feeder series to GP2, which in itself is billed as the official feeder series to the promised land.

Podcast 431 features an exclusive interview with this ‘el grande’ talented driver from Monterrey, Mexico. The conversation took place in Barcelona last month on the occasion of the opening round of the GP3 Series where Gutierrez was the only driver to be on the podium in both races of the weekend.

My thanks to Esteban Gutierrez for his time and his Manager Marks Granados for making this happen.

Please visit his website www.estebangtz.com for more information on his career and also www.gp3series.com for more information on the series, teams and drivers.

Special thanks to Ms. Amanda Hunt of GP3 Media for her kind assistance in granting F1Weekly media credentials.

— Nasir Hameed

Racing regards from California.