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Haas Formula 1 driver Esteban Gutierrez believes it was unfair of Mercedes motorsport boss Toto Wolff to make fun of him in public following the Singapore Grand Prix.

Wolff accused Gutierrez of "cruising around" towards the end of the race, seemingly unaware of Nico Rosberg and Daniel Ricciardo's battle for the lead coming up behind him.

It prompted a staunch defence of Gutierrez from team principal Gunther Steiner, who fears his driver has become "a bit of a punching ball" in F1 following other incidents.

After hearing what Wolff had to say, Gutierrez told Autosport: "I'm very disappointed at hearing those comments.

"Making fun of me publicly is not a fair way to do things.

"He could very easily have come to me and spoken to me face to face, and not behind my back [and] publicly.

"If he has something to say he can come to me and speak about it. He knows I am an open person, he knows I'm very transparent.

"It's just disappointing to hear how he spoke in public."

Gutierrez's on-track etiquette has been in the spotlight on three occasions so far this season, notably for his apparent ignorance of blue-flag situations during grands prix.

In Hungary, Gutierrez received a five-second time penalty for holding up Lewis Hamilton, who delivered an abusive hand gesture to the Mexican.

A week later in Germany, Red Bull's Ricciardo criticised Gutierrez for his blue-flag response, while at the following race in Belgium the 23-year-old was again penalised for blocking Manor's Pascal Wehrlein during final practice.

"I don't think any team principal or team manager would be happy if his driver was losing a lot of time under blue flags," Gutierrez said.

"If I was doing something wrong then I would be penalised, as simple as that.

"I did something wrong in Budapest, and I was penalised - although I was only penalised because Lewis complained.

"But I wasn't penalised in Singapore. I was doing my race. I was fighting as well, so I will continue my way.

"It's just disappointing what was said [by Wolff]. But people can make fun of me, they can say whatever they want, but there are rules.

"So I will continue to move forward, to keep improving, with the consistency in my results showing how close we are to the points, to the top 10.

"Nothing will stop me, I will keep pushing, and getting in the points will happen. I believe in it."