Mexican Esteban Gutierrez has admitted that he is not expecting too much from his Formula 1 debut in the Australian Grand Prix later this month.

The 21-year-old also believes that it is important to keep his "feelings aside" as he prepares for the race in Melbourne.

"The main goal is to complete the full race length. Being my first F1 race it is important to accomplish this. It doesn't make sense to do a 120% risk when you are not fighting for something yet," he told AutoSport.

"I am looking to create a good base for my confidence to then push the limits a little bit. It's my first F1 race and you have all these feelings and thoughts that can come to you at the start of the race.

"It's important to keep these feelings aside in order to be focused and be natural. In qualifying I think I could improve a little bit, but I will do my best to get up to speed as soon as possible."

Gutierrez will race alongside Nico Hulkenberg for Sauber.