Gutierrez impressed after first oval test

Esteban Gutierrez's newfound enthusiasm and appreciation for ovals is endearing. The former Formula 1 driver, who got his first taste of oval driving on Tuesday with Dale Coyne Racing at the Iowa bullring, laughed, smiled and gushed over the experience.

"I definitely have a very big respect for the drivers who have been doing this for a long time," Gutierrez told RACER after hurling his No. 18 Honda-powered IndyCar around the 0.875-mile oval. "It was very exciting, I did a lot of laps, and being the first time on an oval I was taking it progressively and was impressed how much you could feel from the car. Every single detail, every single change. It really gives you something more than what you can feel in a road course. That was the thing I was surprised about."

Related Stories

The 25-year-old Mexican went from Road America's sprawling 4.0-mile road course on Sunday to processing never-ending 18-second laps at Iowa. Despite years of wielding rocket-fast F1 cars and processing the incredible speeds where they perform, Gutierrez was taken aback by the gigabytes of sensory data being fed to his body on the 185mph oval.

"It's very mentally demanding; more than I expected," he said. "You can't stop, and the focus is constant. It was important for me to have a test and feel that; it will take time to adapt. I'm taking it with a very patient approach. Thankfully, I was able to go flat out all the way around and trimmed out and went quicker and quicker. It was something special."

After a lifetime spent in road racing, Gutierrez left his first oval outing as an advocate for the unique American discipline.

"If I was to recommend one thing to all the drivers around the world, it would be to try an oval because it gives you something you won't get in a normal road course," he proclaimed. "One, it helps you to be very sensitive and very precise. It teaches you to be like that. Two, you feel every movement of the car, and you feel it over a long period of time. You have the sensation of every single change you are doing in the car, and to learn that from a car on an oval, it gives you a better perception of what's going on around the car. You feel every single step of roll bar changes, spring changes, ride height changes; it's very interesting."

Compared to a road course where significant portions of each lap is spent between corners, Gutierrez found the constant turning at Iowa to be highly educational.

"You feel all the changes on a road course, as well, but the fact that you are cornering most of the time on an oval, flat out, the sensation is more pure and you have to be more consistent," he said. "You are feeling the car all the way around the lap, so it is giving you information all the time. Even though it looks very basic from the outside, it is as complicated or more complicated than a normal road course."

Gutierrez also learned the most important difference about road course and oval driving during his first day at Iowa.

"The car has to do everything for you. The cornering, everything, the car has to give to you," he said. "You are driving, but the car has to give you the right balance to go through the corner and be very clean. To be in that sweet spot of balance and grip is very hard. Especially when every change makes a difference. In an oval, the car is working for you, and you have to achieve that with the best setup."

Set for his oval racing debut at Iowa on July 9, Gutierrez is confident the experience will improve his road racing skills.

"I said to myself, 'I should be doing this more often!'" he added. "It takes your level of concentration to a different level. Then you go to a road course and it should be easier."

Gutierrez has no expectations for his debut at Iowa, and with its short laps, going down a few laps is all but inevitable for the oval rookie. Race performances aside, it's refreshing to see the latest F1 driver to tackle an IndyCar oval is bringing a healthy dose of respect and humility to the challenge.