Hülkenberg and Gutierrez take on Mercedes role

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F1 Grand Prix, GP Bahrain, Bahrain International Circuitbh

Former German F1 driver Nico Hülkenberg has confirmed that he will serve as the reserve driver for both the Aston Martin and Mercedes Formula 1 outfit in the 2021 F1 season.

After being drafted in as a replacement for Sergio Perez and Lance Stroll at three round in 2020, Hülkenberg will stay close to the pinnacle of motorsport this year as well as the German will work as a reserve driver in the 2021 F1 season.

Speaking tot he Austrian TV channel ServusTV, Hülkenberg confirmed that he will work „as a reserve driver for Aston Martin and also for Mercedes in selected races,” he said.

Mercedes and Aston Martin share their reserve driver with Mercedes Formula E drivers Stoffel Vandoorne and Nyck de Vries fulfilling this role. However, as the 2021 calendar of the fully-electric championship can have clashed with the 2021 F1 schedule, the two team wanted to secure a third reserve driver.

Formula E has recently confirmed that only two upcoming rounds in Rome and Valencia are certain with the remainder of the calendar depending on the coronavirus pandemic and the travel restrictions.

In the meantime, former F1 driver Esteban Gutierrez also announced that he will continue his work for Mercedes, taking on the role of Brand and Business Ambassador.

“Very excited to share that I will continue working with Mercedes AMG F1 in 2021, as a Brand and Business Ambassador. Looking forward to great things this year,” the Mexican said.

The Mexican driver finished runner-up in the Formula BMW USA in 2007 before winning the Formula BMW Europe in the following year. When he joined the GP3 championship in 2010, he was crowned champion with five wins to his name. The next year saw Gutierrez step up to F2 where he finished third in 2012.

He made his debut in F1 in 2013 with the Sauber F1 Team, racing for the Swiss team for two years before taking on the test driver role at Ferrari In 2015. He managed to find a race seat with Haas for the 2016 season before focusing on different disciplines within motorsport, including three races in Formula E with the Techeetah team and completing seven round in IndyCar with the Dale Coyne Racing outfit.

Since the start of 2018, Gutierrez has been served as test driver at the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport outfit.