Ladies and gentlemen… It’s Esteban Gutierrez!

The worst kept secret in F1 is no more after Esteban Gutierrez was formally announced as the second Haas driver for 2016 in Mexico tonight.

Gutierrez, whose Ferrari links helped him to secure the drive, joins the previously announced Romain Grosjean.

“I got to know Esteban through our relationship with Ferrari, and after looking at the success he’s had to earn his role there,” said Gene Haas. “It became clear he was an excellent choice for our race team/ He’s young and hungry, but not inexperienced. His two years running a full F1 schedule has given him some very good race experience, and having spent this season at Ferrari as their third driver allowed him to see first hand the methodology that makes Ferrari such a power in Formula One.

“We’re very happy to have Esteban as a part of our race team. Between him and Romain, we have a strong driver line-up that will help us develop our car and, ultimately, score some points in our inaugural season.”

“This is an excellent opportunity that builds on my time with Ferrari and I will make the most of it,” said Gutiérrez. “Gene Haas believes in me and I believe in how he’s going about competing in Formula One. To have a race seat in a competitive car with Ferrari power is very special, and I appreciate the faith he has in me. I trust we’ll be able to achieve great things together.”

 “All along we said we were looking for experienced drivers, and we have that with Romain and Esteban,” said Guenther Steiner. “Romain has more starts, but Esteban has a deep knowledge of Ferrari and how they do things. He’s learned from the best in his role as their third driver, which means he knows how they’ve developed their current cars. He’s been a big part of that and he’ll be a big part in the development of our cars at Haas F1 Team.”