Esteban Gutierrez will see out the remainder of the 2017 Verizon IndyCar Series season in the #18 Dale Coyne Racing entry in place of the sidelined Sebastien Bourdais.
The Mexican first replaced the Frenchman in the recent races around the streets of Detroit, securing a best finish of fourteenth in race two despite having to learn both the car and the circuit that weekend.
Gutierrez is looking to put his past experiences in Formula 1 to good use in IndyCar, and he is delighted to be representing Mexico in the championship, starting this weekend around Road America.
“I’m very happy to finally announce my racing program for the rest of the season,” said Gutierrez. “To represent Mexico in the Verizon IndyCar Series has a huge significance to all the fans that have been following the series through history and I’m very grateful to fill in this position.
“IndyCar has highly competitive teams and drivers and the challenge for me will be great, but I will use all my experience from Formula 1 with Sauber, Haas F1 Team and Ferrari in order to adapt quickly to the car and the tracks.
“I look forward to continue working with Dale Coyne Racing and Honda, I put my trust in them to achieve great results together. I cannot wait to jump in my Unifin #18 car at Road America this weekend!”
Team owner Dale Coyne is pleased that Gutierrez will return to the seat this weekend at Elkhart Lake after he was forced to skip the last round at the Texas Motor Speedway due to not having completed his oval rookie test beforehand.
“We’re very pleased that Esteban can join us for the remainder of the season,” said Coyne. “Esteban did a very good job in Detroit despite having a lot to learn in a short amount of time.
“He fit in very well with the team and I look forward to our next races with him, starting with Road America this week.”
