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Esteban Gutierrez feels he took the biggest risk of his career by joining the Ferrari Formula 1 team as reserve driver.

Gutierrez lost his race seat at Sauber at the end of 2014 after two tough years with the team and spent '15 on Ferrari's test roster

Aware he would be out of F1's spotlight and beneath Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen in Ferrari's pecking order, the 24-year-old Mexican accepted another racing opportunity might not come along for some time - if at all.

But Gutierrez returns to the track this season with newcomer Haas, relieved his venture has paid off.

"I took the biggest risk of my life probably," Gutierrez told Autosport.

"But in life sometimes you need to take those risks and never be afraid. And I was never afraid.

"I was aware of the risk I was taking, but also the fact I had the opportunity.

"It was also about Ferrari taking me to their team.

"I then set very clear targets in the short term, looking at the necessary steps in order for me to achieve another drive the following year.

"Obviously I looked towards Haas, and my relationship with Ferrari. Hopefully that will bring further opportunities to get to the top of Formula 1 in the future."

Gutierrez feels a year of observing Vettel, Raikkonen and Ferrari at work has been hugely valuable.

"Something I really enjoy, and I have always enjoyed during my whole career, is to observe and to learn the good things from other people," he said.

"It was really crucial. It gave me a great opportunity to see things from a different perspective.

"It allowed me to learn from the best and observe the best - the best engineers, the best drivers in Kimi and Sebastian, the best team principal in Maurizio Arrivabene, who is an amazing person, and all the other great people in the team."

Though he struggled at Sauber, the 2010 GP3 champion believes all his experiences from F1 so far will help at Haas.

"Honestly, the years I've learnt the most, or let's say I've had the most important lessons, have been the last three years," added Gutierrez.

"You connect both things [struggling at Sauber and learning with Ferrari] and then it makes you grow exponentially in many ways, so I feel very prepared and very hungry to get back racing."