Sauber have finalised its line-up for the 2013 season following the official annoucement that Esteban Gutiérrez will sit alongside Nico Hülkenberg.
The news has been expected for some weeks and more so after Sergio Pérez let slip on Thursday when he mentioned Gutiérrez would partner Hülkenberg.
The team also confirmed that Robin Frijns will become the team’s test and reserve driver.
21-year-old Gutiérrez previously held the role of test and reserve driver but following his impressive testing efforts, and his Telemex backing, will enjoy a promotion to a full-time race seat.
“Esteban has already been part of the team for a long time and we have followed his career very closely,” said Team Principal Monisha Kaltenborn.
“In 2010 we signed him up as an affiliated driver, and in 2011 and 2012 he was our test and reserve driver. We mapped out his path to Formula One step by step.
“Esteban has great talent and now he’s ready to take the leap,” she added. “We are in no doubt we have a strong driver pairing in place for the 2013 season with Nico Hülkenberg and Esteban Gutiérrez.”
The Mexican will replace Kamui Kobayashi, with the Japanese driver unlikely to find a race seat for next season despite efforts to raise funds.
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