Gutierrez says Haas decision not "fair"

After months of uncertainty, Gutierrez found out earlier this week that he would not be retained for 2017.

He will be replaced by Kevin Magnussen, who takes the seat alongside Romain Grosjean.

Gutierrez has failed to score so far this season, but the Mexican believes the team has often been at fault for his lack of results.

When asked if he understood the decision, he said: "No, I don't. I think you know that the performance is there. There were a lot of situations that were not really under my control.

"At the end of the day I respect the decision because it's their team. It's what they want to do, but on the other hand it's not a fair way how they put it in general, because, as you know, at the start of the season it wasn't ideal.

"There were a lot of mechanical problems. As a new team there were a lot of things going, a lot of mistakes. There were some mistakes from my side as well, but it was more from the team.

"I don't think I was evaluated the right way. I respect it, but I don't necessarily agree with it," he added.

Gutierrez returned to Formula 1 racing this year after spending 2015 as a reserve driver for Ferrari.

Now the Mexican driver only has options with Sauber - with whom he made his F1 debut in 2013 - and with Manor to stay on the grid in 2017.

He said he was in talks with both teams as he admitted staying in F1 as a racing driver was his priority.

"My priority is staying in Formula 1, but it has to make sense as a plan for the future, not only to stay driving but to have something that makes sense," he said.

"There are a few options, but preferably I want to drive. Keep driving is the most important.

"I will make a decision soon, because it's important to know as soon as possible. It's not going to be an easy choice, but let's see."

When asked to rate his chances of being in F1 next year, he said: "If I put a number, around 70 percent."

Additional reporting by Oleg Karpov