Esteban Gutierrez, named as a Sauber driver for next season, accepts that sponsor backing has been "very important"

For Esteban Gutierrez, reaching Formula 1 is not a dream: it's a project. That was how he described his career to date on Friday having been named as a Sauber driver for next season.

The "variables" Gutierrez alluded to can be boiled down to talent and money. The decision to appoint him in place of Kamui Kobayashi - who has an ample amount of the former but none of the latter - has once again highlighted the role so-called 'pay drivers' have in Formula 1. Monisha Kaltenborn has been at pains to stress that the decision is based on talent as well as money - if not more so the former, according to the Team Principal. It's been a sensitive subject for some teams. Hopefully, the fact that Sauber started firing up their cars' engines, drowning out Gutierrez's voice as he fended questions on the subject, was something not lost on those present. There was, refreshingly, a good dose of honesty from him when asked about the step up. "I don't know if I'm ready yet. I think when I'm living the position of a Formula 1 driver next season then I'm going to know if I'm ready or not," he responded. Yet, when asked to describe his emotions upon hearing of the decision, Gutierrez reverted once more to the business matter-of-fact. He added: "There has always been a plan with the team. I have been related with the team, which has always helped me a lot to develop myself in a very progressive way. "From that time, when I joined, there was already a plan. Every year there were certainly different options, and these options have been followed. "It'll make me even stronger, which is why I'm going to take it in the most calm way with a cold head; to be able to look into the future in the best way."