More than 113,000 people were in the stands of the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez on Saturday afternoon and were the only consolation for Esteban Gutiérrez in a bad qualifying session.

The Haas driver was eliminated in Q2 in the last seconds after being relegated to 17th place and left the car upset.

"It has been an incredible emotion, I wasn't happy when I got out of the car, but walking down the pitlane and hearing the people cheering, all that enthusiasm and support, changed my mood to receive that energy and they make a big difference," confessed the driver from Monterrey.

On Friday they had problems with the front parts and finished last in practice, and although the American team showed improvement, it was not enough for a better performance.

"We know that the car's performance is not good, nor has it been good all weekend, but we're not going to sit with our arms crossed. We'll do the best we can with this car we have and we'll fight," added Gutiérrez, who had a spin in turn 9 when closing the qualifying.

The effort to shine as a local is pushing him to put in extra, "We're giving everything and even more, pushing beyond the limit. In the end, it's a shame to have this kind of performance in front of the fans, but we have to keep pushing and enjoying it because the event is very special, it's still an incredible moment in my career," acknowledged the 25-year-old driver.

These last few races of the season can be crucial for his future with his team or another one, that's why he's taking advantage of it, "I want to live and enjoy this moment, which is still incredible in my career."

With all the factors against him, it's not the time to promise anything, he's not close to the points zone, because "We can't make any more adjustments, we just have to do the best we can. It's not going to be an easy race, we can say that now," Gutiérrez concluded.