Sauber sign De la Rosa
Sauber have named Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa as their second driver for the 2010 Formula One season.
By Rachel Griffiths
Last Updated: 19/01/10 12:59pm
Sauber have named Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa as their second driver for the 2010 Formula One season.
The 38-year-old, who has spent the last seven years as a reserve and test driver for McLaren and has driven in 71 grand prix, will partner Kamui Kobayashi at the Swiss outfit.
The appointment of the Spanish driver silenced rumours that Italian Giancarlo Fisichella was set to fill the vacant drive at Peter Sauber's team.
"I always firmly believed I would be given another chance as a team driver," said de la Rosa.
"Since the number of test drives were radically reduced, this was what I was working towards.
"I'm really excited about the season with Peter Sauber's team, which has been a solid fixture in Formula 1 ever since 1993."
New start
The Spaniard, who has not started a grand prix for three years since Brazil in 2006, began his F1 career with Arrows before moving to Jaguar and then McLaren at the end of the 2002 season, initially as a test and back-up driver.
However De la Rosa started nine races for McLaren, replacing Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya, who missed the 2005 Bahrain Grand Prix due to injury before leaving the team halfway through the following season.
Team principal Peter Sauber believes his outfit will benefit from the experience brought by the F1 veteran.
"Pedro has spent many years working for a top team at the highest technical level," said Sauber.
"We as a team stand to gain from his experience, and the same goes for young Kamui.
"The combination of a seasoned racer and an up-and-coming young driver has repeatedly proved a very fruitful one. I don't expect either of them to disappoint in 2010."
