Pedro de la Rosa

Pedro Martínez de la Rosa (Template:IPA; born 24 February 1971) is a Spanish former racing driver, motorsport executive and broadcaster, who competed in Formula One between Template:F1 and Template:F1.Template:Efn In Japanese motorsport, de la Rosa won the Formula Nippon Championship and the All-Japan GT Championship, both in 1997.

Born and raised in Barcelona, De la Rosa began his career in radio-controlled racing, winning several national and continental titles before moving into karting aged 17. He participated in 107 Grands Prix for the Arrows, Jaguar, McLaren, Sauber and HRT teams. He made his Formula One debut at the 1999 Australian Grand Prix, scoring a point in his first race. He scored a total of 35 championship points, which includes a podium finish at the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix. He is the first Spanish racing driver to win a National Championship in Japan open-wheel racing history, won the Japanese Super Formula Championship (formerly Formula Nippon Championship) and the Super GT (formerly JGTC) in 1997.

Upon retiring from motor racing, de la Rosa became a commentator and pundit for La Sexta, Telecinco, Movistar and DAZN. He founded Drivex in 2005, and served as technical and sporting director of Techeetah in Formula E during the 2018–19 season, winning the Formula E Teams' Championship. He has also been an ambassador for Aston Martin since 2022.

Early career

De la Rosa was born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, and unlike most drivers, he started his career in radio-controlled cars, specialising in 1:8 off-road. He won three consecutive domestic championship titles between 1983 and 1985,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> he became the first multiple European radio controlled off-road championship twice in 1983 and 1984<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="efra">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and was runner up in the inaugural world championship in 1986.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> It was only after that when he started karting in a local Spanish championship in 1988 when he was 17. He then joined the Spanish Formula Fiat Uno and became champion in 1989.

Professional career

In 1990, De la Rosa raced in Spanish Formula Ford 1600 and became champion. He later drove in British Formula Ford 1600 and got two podiums out of six races. In 1991, De la Rosa achieved fourth place in the Spanish Formula Renault Championship with three podium finishes. In 1992 he was both European and British Formula Renault champion. He slipped down the order in the next two years. In 1995, he was champion of the Japanese Formula Three series and third in the Macau Grand Prix. In 1996, he finished 8th in both the Formula Nippon and All Japan GT Championship. The next year he was champion in Formula Nippon. He was also the All Japan GT Champion with Michael Krumm.

Formula One (1999–2014)

Arrows (1999–2000)

File:Pedro de la Rosa 2000 Belgian.jpg

De la Rosa driving for Arrows at the 2000 Belgian Grand Prix

In Template:F1, De la Rosa was a test driver for Jordan. The next year, he joined Arrows and scored one world championship point by finishing sixth in his debut race, the Template:F1 GP. He regularly out-paced his more experienced teammate Toranosuke Takagi. In 2000 he remained at Arrows alongside Dutchman Jos Verstappen. He scored two points, finishing sixth in the German Grand Prix and the European Grand Prix. Verstappen commented mid-season that he and De la Rosa 'work well together and we have a good partnership'.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> During the 2000 season, the Arrows team took part in a 13-part TV series named 'Racing Arrows' which followed the team and drivers throughout the year. It was shown on British TV channel ITV in 2001.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

File:Pedro de la Rosa 2001 Canada.jpg

De la Rosa driving for Jaguar at the 2001 Canadian Grand Prix

Jaguar (2001–2002)

He raced for two years with Jaguar Racing alongside Eddie Irvine, scoring 3 points in 2001 and none in 2002. At the end of the 2002 season Jaguar paid off his contract which was set to expire at the conclusion of 2003, replacing him with Antônio Pizzonia.<ref name="De la Rosa - Pizzonia Switch Decided Last Week">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

McLaren (2003–2009)

File:Pedro de la Rosa 2005 Canadian GP.jpg

De la Rosa at the 2005 Canadian Grand Prix, as a third driver

File:Pedro de la Rosa Hungaroring.jpg

De la Rosa at the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix

He became a test driver for McLaren but raced at the 2005 Bahrain Grand Prix when Juan Pablo Montoya injured his shoulder. He finished fifth and set a lap record which he still holds Template:As of.

On 11 July 2006 it was announced that De la Rosa would take over the second McLaren race seat with immediate effect following Juan Pablo Montoya's departure to NASCAR. It was initially unclear whether he would remain in the seat until the end of the season, but some successful results led to him being retained.

At the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix De la Rosa scored his first and only Formula One podium, finishing in second place behind Jenson Button.

After a long period of speculation as to who would be Fernando Alonso's teammate in Template:F1, Lewis Hamilton secured the seat. De la Rosa would carry on as the team's test driver.

For the Template:F1 season he combined his testing duties with providing race commentary for Spanish broadcaster Telecinco. After his absence in 2006 he returned to the microphone in 2007.

Reports in 2007 consistently linked De la Rosa to a return to F1 racing with the new Prodrive team, which was set to make its debut in the Template:F1 season. Speculation suggested that Prodrive would run with support from the McLaren team, and that De la Rosa, along with fellow tester Gary Paffett, would race for them in their maiden season. However, the team failed to make the grid for the new season, and De la Rosa instead remained as a test driver for McLaren.

File:Pedro de la Rosa 2008 test 3.jpg

De la Rosa testing for McLaren at the Circuit de Catalunya in 2008

De la Rosa was also involved in the espionage controversy surrounding his team and rivals Ferrari. With evidence provided by him and teammate Fernando Alonso, the FIA excluded the team from the 2007 Constructors' Championship, and issued a record fine of $100 million. He was understood to have sent e-mails to Mike Coughlan and Fernando Alonso regarding the Ferrari cars' setup.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Before the Australian Grand Prix of 2008, De la Rosa was elected as the new chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association after a unanimous vote. De la Rosa was the preferred candidate for GPDA directors Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso. He replaced the retired Ralf Schumacher in the role.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He remained at McLaren in 2009, and as of January 2010 was the fifth most experienced test driver in history, in terms of test days.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He stated that he wished to step down from the role of GPDA chairman, following the completion of his deal to drive for Sauber in 2010, and was duly replaced in the role by Nick Heidfeld at the Australian Grand Prix.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Sauber (2010–2011)

File:Pedro de la Rosa 2010 Malaysia 2nd Free Practice.jpg

De la Rosa driving for Sauber at the 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix

In 2010 De la Rosa drove for the newly resurrected Sauber team.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His teammate at Sauber was Japanese driver Kamui Kobayashi who impressed at Toyota during the last two races of the 2009 Formula One season.

De la Rosa finished seven of the thirteen races he started in the Template:F1 season, and picked up six points from a single points-scoring finish, a seventh-place finish at the Template:F1 GP.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> These points would be the last of his Formula One career. De la Rosa qualified in the top ten on two occasions, at Silverstone and in Hungary as both he and teammate Kobayashi struggled with reliability problems for the majority of the season.

He was dropped from his race seat by Sauber in favour of Nick Heidfeld after the Italian Grand Prix.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> De la Rosa replaced Heidfeld as test driver for Pirelli, in anticipation for their return to Formula One for the Template:F1 season.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

After Sergio Pérez's accident in Monaco, De la Rosa replaced him for Sauber at the Template:F1 GP, after Pérez decided after the first free practice session on Friday, to sit out the rest of the weekend.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> De la Rosa managed to stay out of trouble throughout the first part of the race, affected by heavy rain, running as high as ninth before a red flag suspended the race. He eventually finished 12th after having some contact soon after the restart which required a new wing.

McLaren (2011)

On 9 March 2011, McLaren announced that De la Rosa had returned to the team as their test and reserve driver.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

HRT (2012)

File:Pedro de la Rosa 2012 Malaysia Qualify.jpg

De la Rosa driving for HRT at the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix.

On 21 November 2011, it was announced that De la Rosa had signed for HRT F1 on a two-year contract.<ref name="DLR HRT">Template:Cite news</ref> His teammate was Indian driver Narain Karthikeyan.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Both drivers failed to qualify for the first race of the season in Australia, as De la Rosa was only able to complete seven timed laps during the race weekend.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> At the next race weekend in Malaysia, he was able to qualify and finish 22nd in the race after receiving a drive through penalty after the race was restarted, and he was later promoted to 21st place due to Karthikeyan's 20-second penalty for an incident with Sebastian Vettel.

File:Pedro de la Rosa, United States Grand Prix, Austin 2012.jpg

De la Rosa at the 2012 US Grand Prix

De la Rosa qualified ahead of Karthikeyan once again in China, and finished 21st, one lap down from the race winner. In Bahrain, he finished 20th after qualifying 22nd, although after the race he admitted that the team still needed "to gain some speed per lap" to fight their rivals on a consistent basis.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Following on from this, De la Rosa finished his home race for the first time since 1999 in 19th place, the last of all classified drivers. However, he was unable to complete the Monaco Grand Prix due to a collision with Pastor Maldonado at the beginning of the race.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

De la Rosa had a contract to compete in the 2013 season with HRT and was due to become team principal for 2014.<ref>Template:Cite podcast</ref> The team folded at the end of the 2012 season, meaning de la Rosa was unable to take either position.

File:Ferrari F10 Pedro de la Rosa at Goodwood 2014 001.jpg

De la Rosa at the 2014 Goodwood Festival of Speed

Ferrari (2013–2014)

On 16 January, Ferrari announced that De la Rosa had been signed in a developmental role for the team, aiding with its simulator resources.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> On 24 January Ferrari announced that De la Rosa would share testing duties of their 2013 challenger, the F138, with Felipe Massa at the first test of the season, beginning on 5 February in Jerez.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Other ventures

Team management

In 2005 de la Rosa founded feeder series outfit Drivex with Miguel Ángel de Castro. The team has been successful, with their biggest achievement being winning 2019 F4 Spanish Championship teams' and drivers' title with current Alpine Formula One driver Franco Colapinto.

De la Rosa served as the technical and sporting director of Techeetah in Formula E during the 2018–19 season.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

De la Rosa also runs a driving school and racing team called Drivex.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In October 2022, De la Rosa was appointed ambassador for Aston Martin Formula One Team.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Broadcasting

De la Rosa has also worked as color analyst for Formula One broadcasts on La Sexta, Telecinco, Movistar and currently DAZN.

Personal life

De la Rosa has one daughter. His nephew Bruno del Pino is also a racing driver, who previously drove for his Drivex team.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Racing record

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
1989	Spanish Formula Fiat	Ofensiva Uno – Meycom	7	2	?	?	5	?	1st
1990	Spanish Formula Ford	Racing for Spain	10	8	?	?	9	?	1st
	British Formula Ford		6	0	?	?	2	0	NC
	Formula Ford Festival	?	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	12th
1991	Spanish Formula Renault Championship	Racing for Spain	10	0	?	?	3	46	4th
1992	Formula Renault UK	Racing for Spain	12	3	0	?	7	153	1st
	Rencontres Internationales de Formule Renault		3	2	?	?	?	?	1st
1993	British Formula 3 Championship	West Surrey Racing	14	0	0	0	0	18	6th
	Macau Grand Prix		1	0	0	0	0	N/A	NC
	Masters of Formula 3		1	0	0	0	0	N/A	9th
1994	British Formula 3 Championship	Racing for Spain	17	0	0	0	0	6	19th
1995	All-Japan Formula 3 Championship	TOM'S	9	8	8	4	9	54	1st
	Macau Grand Prix		1	0	0	0	1	N/A	3rd
1996	Formula Nippon	Team Nova	10	0	0	0	1	13	8th
	All-Japan GT Championship	TOM'S	6	0	0	0	2	38	13th
	Macau Grand Prix	Paul Stewart Racing	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	7th
1997	Formula Nippon	Team Nova	10	6	4	3	10	82	1st
	All-Japan GT Championship	TOM'S	6	2	2	3	4	64	1st
1998	Formula One	Benson & Hedges Jordan	Test driver
1999	Formula One	Repsol Arrows Grand Prix International	16	0	0	0	0	1	18th
2000	Formula One	Arrows Grand Prix International	17	0	0	0	0	2	16th
2001	Formula One	Prost Acer	Test driver
		Jaguar Racing F1 Team	13	0	0	0	0	3	16th
2002	Formula One	Jaguar Racing F1 Team	17	0	0	0	0	0	21st
2003	Formula One	West McLaren Mercedes	Test driver
2004	Formula One	West McLaren Mercedes	Test driver
2005	Formula One	West McLaren Mercedes	Test driver
			1	0	0	1	0	4	20th
2006	Formula One	Team McLaren Mercedes	Test driver
			8	0	0	0	1	19	11th
2007	Formula One	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes	Test driver
2008	Formula One	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes	Test driver
2009	Formula One	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes	Test driver
2010	Formula One	BMW Sauber F1 Team	14	0	0	0	0	6	17th
		Pirelli	Test driver
2011	Formula One	Vodafone McLaren Mercedes	Test driver
		Sauber F1 Team	1	0	0	0	0	0	20th
2012	Formula One	HRT Formula 1 Team	20	0	0	0	0	0	25th
2013	Formula One	Scuderia Ferrari	Test driver
2014	Formula One	Scuderia Ferrari	Test driver
2015–16	Formula E	Team Aguri	Pre-season test driver

Complete RC racing results

(Races in bold indicate top qualifier)

IFMAR World Championship results

Year	Result	Class	Venue	Entrant	Car	Motor
1986	2	1:8 IC Off-Road	Grenoble	Garbo España	Garbo Gepard 3	Picco

EFRA European Championship results

Year	Result	Class	Venue	Entrant	Car	Motor
1983	1	1:8 IC Off-Road	France		Yankee Enduro 84x4	Picco
1984	1	1:8 IC Off-Road	Sweden		Yankee Enduro 84x4	Picco

AECAR Campeonato de España results

Year	Result	Class	Venue	Entrant	Car	Motor
1985	1	1:8 IC Off-Road			Garbo	Picco
1984	1	1:8 IC Off-Road			Garbo	Picco
1983	1	1:8 IC Off-Road			Garbo	Picco

Complete British Formula 3 results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	Engine	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	DC	Pts
1993	West Surrey Racing	Mugen-Honda	A	SIL Template:Small	THR Template:Small	BRH Template:Small	DON Template:Small	BRH Template:Small	SIL Template:Small	OUL Template:Small	DON Template:Small	SIL Template:Small	DON Template:Small	SNE Template:Small	PEM Template:Small	SIL Template:Small	SIL Template:Small	THR Template:Small				7th	18
1994	Racing for Spain	Renault	A	SIL Template:Small	DON Template:Small	BRH Template:Small	BRH Template:Small	SIL Template:Small	SIL Template:Small	BRH Template:Small	THR Template:Small	OUL Template:Small	DON Template:Small	SIL Template:Small	SNE Template:Small	PEM Template:Small	PEM Template:Small	SIL Template:Small	SIL Template:Small	THR Template:Small	SIL Template:Small	19th	6

Complete Japanese Formula 3 results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	DC	Pts
1995	TOM's	Toyota	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	TSU Template:Small	MIN Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	TAI Template:Small	SUG Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SEN Template:Small	1st	54

Complete Formula Nippon results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	DC	Points
1996	Team Nova	SUZ Template:Small	MIN Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	TOK Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SUG Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	MIN Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	8th	13
1997	Team Nova	SUZ Template:Small	MIN Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	SUG Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	MIN Template:Small	MOT Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SUZ Template:Small	1st	82

Complete JGTC results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Year	Team	Car	Class	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	DC	Pts
1996	Toyota Castrol Team	Toyota Supra	GT500	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SEN Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SUG Template:Small	MIN Template:Small		8th	38
1997	Toyota Castrol Team	Toyota Supra	GT500	SUZ Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	SEN Template:Small	FUJ Template:Small	MIN Template:Small	SUG Template:Small		1st	67
1998	NISMO	Nissan Skyline GT-R	GT500	SUZ	FUJ Template:Small	SEN	FUJ	MOT	MIN	SUG	NC	0

Complete Formula One results

(key)

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	WDC	Points
Template:F1	Repsol Arrows	Arrows A20	Arrows T2-F1 3.0 V10	AUS Template:Small	BRA Template:Small	SMR Template:Small	MON Template:Small	ESP Template:Small	CAN Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	AUT Template:Small	GER Template:Small	HUN Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	EUR Template:Small	MAL Template:Small	JPN Template:Small					18th	1
Template:F1	Arrows F1 Team	Arrows A21	Supertec FB02 3.0 V10	AUS Template:Small	BRA Template:Small	SMR Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	ESP Template:Small	EUR Template:Small	MON Template:Small	CAN Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	AUT Template:Small	GER Template:Small	HUN Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	USA Template:Small	JPN Template:Small	MAL Template:Small				16th	2
Template:F1	Jaguar Racing	Jaguar R2	Cosworth CR-3 3.0 V10	AUS	MAL	BRA	SMR	ESP Template:Small	AUT Template:Small	MON Template:Small	CAN Template:Small	EUR Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	HUN Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	USA Template:Small	JPN Template:Small				16th	3
Template:F1	Jaguar Racing	Jaguar R3	Cosworth CR-3 3.0 V10	AUS Template:Small	MAL Template:Small	BRA Template:Small	SMR Template:Small	ESP Template:Small	AUT Template:Small	MON Template:Small	CAN Template:Small	EUR Template:Small												21st	0
		Jaguar R3B	Cosworth CR-4 3.0 V10										GBR Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GER Template:Small	HUN Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	USA Template:Small	JPN Template:Small
Template:F1	West McLaren Mercedes	McLaren MP4-20	Mercedes FO 110R 3.0 V10	AUS Template:Small	MAL Template:Small	BHR Template:Small	SMR Template:Small	ESP Template:Small	MON	EUR	CAN Template:Small	USA Template:Small	FRA Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER									20th	4
	Team McLaren Mercedes															HUN	TUR Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	BEL	BRA	JPN Template:Small	CHN Template:Small
Template:F1	Team McLaren Mercedes	McLaren MP4-21	Mercedes FO 108S 2.4 V8	BHR	MAL	AUS	SMR	EUR	ESP	MON	GBR	CAN	USA	FRA Template:Small	GER Template:Small	HUN Template:Small	TUR Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	CHN Template:Small	JPN Template:Small	BRA Template:Small			11th	19
Template:F1	BMW Sauber F1 Team	Sauber C29	Ferrari 056 2.4 V8	BHR Template:Small	AUS Template:Small	MAL Template:Small	CHN Template:Small	ESP Template:Small	MON Template:Small	TUR Template:Small	CAN Template:Small	EUR Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	HUN Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	SIN	JPN	KOR	BRA	ABU		17th	6
Template:F1	Sauber F1 Team	Sauber C30	Ferrari 056 2.4 V8	AUS	MAL	CHN	TUR	ESP	MON	CAN Template:Small	EUR	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	SIN	JPN	KOR	IND	ABU	BRA		20th	0
Template:F1	HRT F1 Team	HRT F112	Cosworth CA2012 2.4 V8	AUS Template:Small	MAL Template:Small	CHN Template:Small	BHR Template:Small	ESP Template:Small	MON Template:Small	CAN Template:Small	EUR Template:Small	GBR Template:Small	GER Template:Small	HUN Template:Small	BEL Template:Small	ITA Template:Small	SIN Template:Small	JPN Template:Small	KOR Template:Small	IND Template:Small	ABU Template:Small	USA Template:Small	BRA Template:Small	25th	0
Template:Small {{safesubst:#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=|preview=Page using Template:Center with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| 1 | style }}

External links

• Template:Official website
• Template:DriverDB driver