Esteban Gutierrez praised the efforts of his Haas F1 Team after qualifying thirteenth for the Belgian Grand Prix on Saturday, although the Mexican driver will start down in eighteenth following a penalty.
Gutierrez was handed a five-place grid penalty after final practice after being deemed to have impeded Manor Racing’s Pascal Wehrlein, which the Mexican put down to a miscommunication, but he is now looking to regain those positions and more during Sunday’s race as he strives to secure his first points since his return to Formula 1 at the beginning of the season.
“It was a really good effort from the team,” said Gutierrez after the qualifying session at a hot Spa-Francorchamps. “We’ve been struggling with the car set-up, but managed to find the best balance.
“In qualifying, it felt like a step forward considering the high track temperatures, which is making things a little complicated with the tires.
“In FP3 there was a miscommunication that cost us a five-place grid penalty, which is obviously very painful, but we will try to put that aside. I’ll start the race and give everything I’ve got to recover the lost positions and I’ll be fighting all the way to get into the top-10.”
