Pedro de la Rosa Profile

With 72 F1 races beneath his belt, Pedro de La Rosa is one of the true veterans of Formula One racing. After several years spent serving as a test driver, the Spaniard will return to the driver’s seat for Sauber for the 2010 F1 season, becoming one of the oldest men on the starting grid.

Nationality: Spanish
Date of Birth: 24/02/1971
Team: Sauber
World Championship Titles: 0
First Race: 1999 Australian Grand Prix
First Win: N/A
Car Number: 22
2009 Championship Position: N/A

Pedro de la Rosa made an unconventional start to his racing career, entering the world of competitive motor racing in the radio controlled car leagues. At the age of 12 de la Rosa won his first European off-road championship, and went on to claim a second consecutive title the following year.

De la Rosa only took a seat in the cockpit of a racing car after he turned 17, making a late start to his career in karting. The Spaniard spent just one year in the sport before joining the Spanish Formula Fiat Uno, winning the championship on debut.

De La Rosa’s success continued the following season as he took the step up to Spanish Formula Ford and won the championship at first attempt, also taking two podium finishes in the British equivalent.

The next two years saw de La Rosa achieved success in Formula Renault in Spain and Formula Three in Japan, before his championship win in Formula Nippon 3000 launched him into Formula One racing.

De La Rosa’s Formula One career began as a test driver for Jordan. After one season spent as a team apprentice, de La Rosa took the step up to the drivers seat, racing for the Arrows team as he made his debut at the 1999 Australian Grand Prix, winning a point in his first race.

De La Rosa would spend another four seasons in Formula One racing, achieving minimal success as he failed to come close to breaking into the top ten. His final season as a driver for McLaren was his most impressive, as he achieved 11th place despite participating in only half the events raced in the 2006 Formula One season.

Following the 2006 season de La Rosa was forced to give up his seat at McLaren to rookie, Lewis Hamilton. The Spaniard was relegated to the test driver position for McLaren and began providing Spanish commentary during Formula One races.

Despite persistent rumours of a return to the drivers seat, de La Rosa would spend three seasons on the sidelines before receiving an offer to race for the new Sauber team for the duration of the 2010 Formula One season.

Formula One Rankings
Position Driver Pts
1Sebastian Vettel
(Red Bull-Renault)		392
2Jenson Button
(McLaren-Mercedes)		270
3Mark Webber
(Red Bull-Renault)		258
4Fernando Alonso
(Ferrari)		257
5Lewis Hamilton
(McLaren-Mercedes)		227
6Felipe Massa
(Ferrari)		118
7Nico Rosberg
(Mercedes GP)		89
8Michael Schumacher
(Mercedes GP)		76
9Adrian Sutil
(Force India-Mercedes)		42
10Vitaly Petrov
(Renault)		37
11Nick Heidfeld
(Renault)		34
12Kamui Kobayashi
(Sauber)		30
13Paul Di Resta
(Force India-Mercedes)		27
14Jaime Alguersuari
(Toro Rosso-Ferrari)		26
15Sebastien Buemi
(Toro Rosso-Ferrari)		15
16Sergio Perez
(Sauber)		14
17Rubens Barrichello
(Williams-Cosworth)		4
18Bruno Senna
(Renault)		2
19Pastor Maldonado
(Williams-Cosworth)		1
20Pedro de la Rosa
(Sauber)		0
21Jarno Trulli
(Lotus-Renault)		0
22Heikki Kovalainen
(Lotus-Renault)		0
23Vitantonio Liuzzi
(HRT-Cosworth)		0
24Jerome d'Ambrosio
(Virgin-Cosworth)		0
25Timo Glock
(Virgin-Cosworth)		0
26Daniel Ricciardo
(HRT-Cosworth)		0
27Narain Karthikeyan
(HRT-Cosworth)		0
28Karun Chandhok
(Lotus-Renault)		0
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