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GPUpdate
Official: De la Rosa joins Sauber
19 January 2010The Sauber team has confirmed that former McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa will be racing with the Hinwil outfit this year, marking the Barcelona driver's first full-time outing in Formula 1 since the 2002 season. The former Arrows, Jaguar and McLaren driver will be 39 years old by the time the season kicks off in Bahrain.
With Peter Sauber having bought back the team he sold to BMW at the end of 2005, ex Toyota driver and 2008-09 GP2 Asia Series Champion Kamui Kobayashi was the first to be signed by the Swiss outfit. Despite racing with McLaren for selected races in 2005 and 2006, the full-time race contract is de la Rosa's first since that with Jaguar eight years ago.
"I always firmly believed I would be given another chance as a team driver," he said, having been frustrated last year at the lack of testing time and now becoming the second Spanish driver in the field once again. "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."
"Pedro has spent many years working for a top team at the highest technical level," added Team Principal Peter Sauber, with the 2010 car set to be launched in Valencia on Sunday 31 January.
"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. Of course it is also crucial that we provide them with a decent car; I feel positive about our in-house progress on that front too. We were able to continue work on our 2010 car as scheduled throughout the recent period of uncertainty."
Reaction:
- Whitmarsh pleased for de la Rosa
- Klien still hoping for 2010 race seat
Also on Tuesday:
- Toro Rosso still muted over Alguersuari
'
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