Esteban Gutierrez has rebuffed the public criticism of Mercedes boss Toto Wolff following last Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix.
Wolff directed a few negative remarks at the Haas driver, accusing Gutierrez of ‘cruising’ in the closing stages of the race and putting Nico Rosberg’s lead over Daniel Riccairdo into jeopardy for failing to respect deployed blue flags.
Gutierrez hit back at the Austrian however, not only defending his stance in the race but also Wolff’s choice of berating him in a public forum.
“Making fun of me publicly is not a fair way to do things,’ the Mexican explained to Autosport.
“He could very easily have come to me and spoken to me face-to-face. If he has something to say he can come to me and speak about it. He knows I am an open person, he knows I’m very transparent.
“It’s just disappointing what was said [by Wolff]. But people can make fun of me, they can say whatever they want, but there are rules. If I was doing something wrong then I would be penalised, as simple as that.”
Gutierrez has come under scrutiny by his peers on several occasions this season. In Hungary, the Haas driver received a five-second penalty for holding up Lewis Hamilton, while Daniel Ricciardo also had a few harsh words for the Mexican after a slow blue-flag response in Germany.
“I did something wrong in Budapest, and I was penalised – although I was only penalised because Lewis complained.
“But I wasn’t penalised in Singapore. I was doing my race. I was fighting as well, so I will continue my way. I will continue to move forward, to keep improving, with the consistency in my results showing how close we are to the points, to the top 10.
“Nothing will stop me, I will keep pushing, and getting in the points will happen. I believe in it.”
Quotes of the week – 2016 Singapore Grand Prix
2016 Singapore Grand Prix – Driver ratings
REPORT: Rosberg takes title lead after Singapore thriller
Breakfast with … Bernd Maylander
Keep up to date with all the F1 news via Facebook and Twitter
