Gutierrez was "too confident" over F1 seat

Ex-Formula One Esteban Gutierrez admits that he was too confident things would go his way for the 2017 season. The Mexican failed to be retained by Haas after failing to score a point last season.

Gutierrez repeatedly phrased he would be racing in F1 in 2017, but was replaced by Kevin Magnussen who moves from Renault. He acknowledges that he should have been more aware that his seat was not as safe as he thought.

"The timing for me in F1 in general hasn't been great in the years I've been there - that, together with the fact I was too confident things were taken care of, created another difficult situation for me," Gutierrez said. "There was a lot of energy put in by a lot of people to build up the team. It was tricky to have a full package for two cars.

"At the beginning of the season things started very slowly on my car - there were a lot of inconsistencies. That started to be something that led to miscommunication inside the team as to what the situation actually was, and why certain things were happening. In my opinion, certain things were not completely understood.

"The mistake I made was to be too confident that these things around were taken care of. I was too focused on the people that were specifically around me at that stage. Not that they did a bad job, but there was a bit of confusion around and I focused too much on the results. That's why things just took time and time, and by the time I decided to look after what was going on further around the team it was too late."

Gutierrez now turns his attention to Formula E where he will race at his home ePrix in Mexico and possibly future races. He has also spoke out about a test role for a top team this season.

"I still feel very grateful to them. How things developed through the year is still a bit unclear to me, but that's in the past and I don't carry that with me anymore. I don't regret how things were for me, but I now know how I can do things better. I take that experience and work for the future."

Fergal Walsh