Gutierrez working toward IndyCar return

Esteban Gutierrez is working to ensure his absence from the Verizon IndyCar Series is brief.

After standing in for the injured Sebastien Bourdais at Dale Coyne Racing from the Detroit double-header through last weekend's 500-miler in Pocono, the ex-Formula 1 pilot has turned his attention to finding the budget and team needed to resume activities in America next year.

"The whole plan was to take advantage of this opportunity, do as many races as I could, and prepare for the future," Gutierrez told RACER. "Stepping in for Sebastien at the middle of the season was not ideal, but it was a fantastic opportunity to learn the series, learn the car, the team, the drivers, and I'm really happy for what is coming. My focus lies on IndyCar."

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The Mexican's brief tenure in the No. 18 DCR Honda afforded the 26-year-old chances to sample IndyCar's unique mix of circuits during his seven outings with the team. From street and road courses to the short oval at Iowa and Pocono's superspeedway, Gutierrez should be able to return in a greater state of readiness in 2018.

"That's what we've been targeting," he said. "There's still a lot of work to do, but things are looking good for next year. We are happy that Sebastien recovered quickly, and I obviously filled his position until he was ready to race, so now I'm focusing on preparing for next season. It's still very early, very unusual to be working on this in August, but we're focusing on settling the project in the next months. There's a lot of future in front of me and I'm very excited."

Gutierrez is everything most IndyCar team owners could hope to find. As a recent F1 driver with IndyCar experience and a budget to bring, look for the Andrettis, Schmidts, and every team in between to discuss deals to land the Monterrey native.

With IndyCar looking to race at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodríguez in October of 2018, Gutierrez has been mentioned as a central component in confirming the Mexican race. Although his presence would certainly bolster the event, he says returning to IndyCar isn't dependent upon racing in front of a home audience.

"It doesn't have a direct influence, but there's a common interest," he said. "If there's a race coming up, it's natural to want to have a Mexican driver, and whatever comes up around the race in Mexico is a good complement to that, but they are separate items."