IndyCar: An Esteban Gutierrez return looks likely for 2018

A return to IndyCar in the 2018 season for 26-year-old Esteban Gutierrez looks likely despite his lack of success in 2017.

After driving the #18 Honda for Dale Coyne Racing in seven races in the 2017 IndyCar season as a substitute for the injured four-time champion Sebastian Bourdais, Esteban Gutierrez may be coming back to IndyCar in 2018 after all. In fact, a return to the series looks likely for him at this point.

It was first thought that adding Gutierrez, a 26-year-old Mexican, to the driver lineup for the 2018 season would be key to securing an IndyCar race at Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City, Mexico. When plans for that race fell through, the talk of Gutierrez coming back to the series in 2018 came to a halt.

Gutierrez’s numbers in the 2017 season didn’t blow anyone away, and no one really expected them to after he had driven in 59 Formula One races over three seasons and finished in the top 10 just once, with that lone result being a 7th place finish in the Japanese Grand Prix in the 2013 season driving for Sauber.

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In seven IndyCar starts this past season, Gutierrez finished no higher than 13th place, a finish he recorded in his fourth career IndyCar start at Iowa Speedway. His top road course finish was a 17th place result at Road America, and his top street course finishes were 14th place results at Belle Isle and Toronto.

Gutierrez did show strength at Pocono Raceway early on in the race before contact with the wall ended his race after 23 laps. The following race, which was held at Gateway Motorsports Park, was the race at which Sebastian Bourdais returned from a three-month absence following his nasty wreck in Indianapolis 500 qualifying, which left him with a fractured pelvis and right hip.

As a result of Bourdais’ return, which was not initially supposed to take place in the 2017 season, Gutierrez’s time in the cockpit in 2017 was finished. Here is what Gutierrez had to say about making a return to the series, as first reported by Racer.com.

"“I’m working on coming back, and things are looking positive. I have been contacting many people, and I think it’s important to settle down and learn about the opportunities that have come up – good opportunities. I’m excited to work on what I have in front, and keep working on making a reality of things without giving any expectations. I have been training the whole time to be ready and I’m very motivated to drive. And I want to let my fans know that I’m pushing forward and working on good things for my future.”"

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There has been speculation dating back to as early as July that Gutierrez could end up driving the #20 Ed Carpenter Racing Chevrolet in road and street course races. That will likely be where he ends up if he does indeed end up driving in IndyCar again in the 2018 season. Will this come to fruition?