Gutierrez fills in for unwell Perez during FP1

© Sauber Motorsport AG

Esteban Gutierrez will fill in for the unwell Sergio Perez for the first practice session for the Indian Grand Prix it has been confirmed.

Perez reportedly cancelled his media commitments on Thursday and returned to his hotel after coming down with a bad cold.

However, paddock speculation suggests Sauber have intentionally run Gutierrez as they prepare him for a race seat in 2013 when he will replace the outgoing Perez - this was further confirmed when the Mexican tweeted that it was a team decision.

"Thanks to all I'm ready to do the weekend after practice 1," he wrote. "The team decide not to do practice 1 with me, looking forward for a good weekend."

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