Esteban Gutierrez ‘excited’ by Formula E challenge

By his own admission, losing a Formula One seat is “very tough,” but Esteban Gutierrez is keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the road ahead.

The former Sauber driver and, until last November, the partner of Frenchman Romain Grosjean at the Haas F1 Team, has wasted no time in finding a new outlet for his racing talents in Formula E.

Now part of the Techeetah team, Gutierrez got his first outing at the recent Mexico City ePrix.

“I’m very excited to drive and to get to know my cars because we have two cars (in Formula E) – something I never had before!” Gutierrez told CNN’s Supercharged show.

And judging by his performance in Mexico City, the 25-year-old is a quick learner.

Despite having hardly any time in the cockpit before the race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez, the Mexican steered his way to 10th place and a first point in Formula E.

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Now midway through its third season, the electric race series travels to Monaco next month for round five of the 2016-17 world championship with Gutierrez looking to build on a promising debut.

His commitment to electric cars extends beyond the track – he drives a Tesla when not racing and firmly believes that Formula E is pointing the way towards the future.

“The whole world is shifting to electric cars and I am convinced that in the next two to three years that Formula E will be one of the most important series in motorsport,” he says.

The immediate task now is to play catch up with more experienced Formula E drivers and climb the grid in the remaining eight races this year.

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“It’s quite a challenge especially when (you join) halfway through a season and a lot of drivers have done the three (previous) seasons,” he says.

“But still, anything is possible. I will push to the maximum.”