Esteban Guerrieri He is one of the most prominent Argentine pilots who competes abroad. So much so that, after winning the local Formula Renault crown in 2000 at just 15 years old, he was third in single-seaters in the German F-Renault in 2002; runner-up to his Italian peer in 2003; champion of the F-Renault European Master in that same season; third in the World Series by Renault in 2010; and twice runner-up in the Indy Lights in 2011 and 2012, being the only compatriot to win in Indianapolis.
However, on that journey, the native of Mataderos had to face difficult financial times. To the point that, in order to continue running, he agreed to sleep in a workshop and sweep it in the morning. Although far from loosening up, these situations ended up strengthening him, even caressing his dream of reaching Formula 1.
Today, at 38 years old, living in Barcelona with his wife Marie and their little son Milito, Guerrieri has spent several seasons as an official Honda driver in the WTCR, the World Touring Car Championship, with a third place finish in 2018 and a runner-up finish in 2019. But he also co-directs the TCR South America, a WTCR regional; he will debut in 2024 with Vanwall in the WEC, the World Resistance Championship; and he created his own method of overcoming frustrations.
“I had complex moments since I was a child. In fact, in 1999 I couldn’t continue racing karting because my family didn’t have any more money,” he says. There, my father, as an investment, took me to a formula car school to be as well prepared as possible in case the opportunity arose to jump to F-Renault, where I was champion the following year. In 2001, the Lincoln Sport Group project was set up, which began to support young Argentine pilots to compete in Europe. I was lucky to be at the right time and place. Otherwise, perhaps, my campaign ended there”.
News: What was the first setback abroad?
Esteban Guerrieri: It was after a great 2003. Back in Argentina, I went to see Julio Gutiérrez, who continued to be my manager after the dissolution of the Lincoln Sport Group due to the economic crisis of 2001-2002, and he told me: “The project is over, no I can bank you more”. I was frozen because he had just been champion. I returned to Europe and contacted people I had met, like the owner of the Cram, the team with which he had been champion, to see if he could put me up for a while; and with the car with which I moved around Europe, which only had a month of insurance left, I went to Monaco to see Toto Wolff, the current director of Mercedes F1, who at that time was the drivers’ manager and had already He told me to come see him when he was free. But it was almost March and he already had everything set up. Still, he offered me a contract without making sure where I was going to race in 2004, but with the prospect of competing in 2005 in F3 as a Mercedes driver. That didn’t happen because Julio and my dad advised me not to sign anything that wouldn’t guarantee me a 100% program. I still kept training in the gym as if the opportunity was just around the corner.
News: And it was, because it jumped to Formula 3000, the current F2 and prelude to F1.
guerrieri: Yes, and it went pretty well for me because I finished sixth, but that call was a surprise. I had many uncertain situations, but I always believed that with passion, patience and perseverance, anything is possible..
News: Like when almost out of nowhere, he came to fight for the title of the World Series by Renault and that meant an offer in F1.
guerrieri: Yes, at the beginning of 2010 I didn’t know where I was going to race that year, and suddenly, the owner of a Czech team whose son, who also ran, had been coached, invited me to run the first round of the season. I asked him for two, because only one was somewhat random, and in the end, with six victories I ended up fighting for the title until the last race. That made Virgin team manager John Booth offer me a contract to race in 2011, which didn’t happen because I couldn’t get the necessary financial support. I still felt that the objective had been achieved, because I always pushed forward and in life there are circumstances that one cannot control. Running is not just accelerating. For me, almost all the opportunities were given to me for always being there, for relating, for having good feedback with the technical team, for committing myself to the whole team.
News: You just mentioned passion, patience and perseverance, the three pillars of your coaching method.
guerrieri: I call it the method of the three “Ps”, where passion is the engine of everything. But you have to go looking for dreams, because the environment does not always help and that makes us think that the goal is unattainable. Later, in patience, conviction, being proactive and courage are important, so that when the opportunity comes, cling to it, because sometimes our pulse trembles. And as for perseverance, I believe that success is the sum of small daily efforts, I do not take the result as a value in itself, but as a process; and in that process you have to live the mistake as an opportunity to start over with more experience.
News: In a chat on Instagram with coach Daniel Colombo, he said that his way of living motorsports also helped him to be a better person.
guerrieri: I am very grateful to motorsports, because it helped me grow as a person. At first, I just wanted to be a better driver, but over time I realized that to achieve that, I first had to develop myself as a person. It is individual growth that helps me to be a better driver. I also share my experience in talks in schools. I always wanted to develop myself in this way, to share my learning and the values that this left me, in order to help others in their inspiration.
News: In such a competitive society, where everything is measured by results, what do you say to the successful?
guerrieri: That success is not only the result, but having given everything for what one is passionate about. Then, there are circumstances that escape one. I exemplify this with the National Team in the final in Qatar: if “Dibu” Martínez had not stopped that ball with his leg at the end of the game, would Messi be less of a champion than he is now? No, Lionel is not bigger for having raised the glass. He did everything to achieve it.
by Sergio Nunez
