De la Rosa not looking for 2011 test driver job

Date 2010-10-04

By Motorsport.com/GMM

Pedro de la Rosa has indicated he does not want to return to being a full time Formula One test driver.

After seven years as McLaren's test driver, the Spaniard finally returned to the grid in 2010 with Sauber.

But he has been ousted and replaced by Nick Heidfeld, with de la Rosa instead taking over the role as incoming tyre supplier Pirelli's F1 tester.

He said last week he is "really pleased" to be returning to the test track early this month in Spain, but has now scotched suggestions he is prepared to reprise his days as a full time test driver.

"I hope to have a (race) place in Formula One next year," de la Rosa said in an interview with the Dutch magazine formule1.nl.

"If my racing career in Formula One is over, I regret that, but it's not the end of the world," he insisted.

"One thing is for certain: I will not do another season of testing.

"Even if I only get a place with a team at the back, I would rather that to being a test driver. Even racing in a bad car is better than testing," said de la Rosa.

It has been suggested that, at 39, the Spaniard might be considering retirement rather than more time on the last rows of the grid.

But he explained: "At the beginning of your career you settle for any car you can get. Then you're more selective, and at the end of your career you're happy with any offer.

"For me, there is simply nothing better than racing," added de la Rosa.

http://www.motorsport.com/news/article.asp?ID=389837

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Para los que insistían en que Pedro no volvería a pilotar un monoplaza de final de la parrilla. Me alivia saber que quiere seguir en F1 aunque no sea en el mejor coche posible. Go Pedro Go!!!

Interesantísima declaración de intenciones, abre la puerta clarísimamente a HRT. Es mi interpretración, claro está.

Estoy con Bitter, zasca a todos los que habían asegurado que si no había fichado por un equipo de la cola en 2005, no lo haría ahora. Bien, Pedro, aplaudo que no cierre ninguna puerta. ¿Qué aportaría ahora volver a McLaren como tester?, Y lo de Pirelli supone, claramente, posicionarse de cara a pillar cacho en 2011.

No estoy rabioso de alegría, pero me gusta.

Claro que baja ... no conducia!!!

Me parece que se os esta llendo la pinza con el ranking ¿A cuantos pilotos en activo ha superado Pedro?

¿Quien esta por detras de el?

Declaracion de intenciones en toda regla. Al final Carabante puede conseguirlo.........y yo lo aplaudiria.

Yo espero que no sea HRT, aunque si no queda más remedio será mejor que ser tester...pero muy duro. El año que viene puede ser tremendo para Hispania, podría ser el farolillo rojo destacado, Lotus tiene pinta de ir a más y Virgin ha decidido seguir, luego será para algo concreto, no para dejar pasar las carreras. El que más dudas me da es Hispania.

Saludos!

traducido...

http://www.f1aldia.com/10014/de-la-rosa-co...e-ser-probador/

Si lo que quiero Pedro es correr en cualquier erquipo, pues genial, bienvenido sea. Es una declaración clara, y apuntando de frente a HRT, por tanto, ahora mismo, a día de hoy, Carabante e Hispania no deberían tener ningún problema para presentarle una oferta a Pedro.

No diré que me gusta, me gustaría (y pienso que lo merece), ver a Pedro en otros equipos (diría lo mismo si tuviera una oferta de Virgin, y casi hasta Lotus), pero está claro que lo importante es que Pedro disfrute, y si cree que en HRT puede ser feliz... con él estaremos.

El año pasado no sé porque se torcería la cosa entre HRT y Pedro, si es que realmente hubo oferta de la escudería a Pedro, pero esperemos que dadas las intenciones declaradas de Pedro (segurmanete en parte porque puede estar viendo que no hay baile de pilotos como la pasada temporada), se decidan en Hispania a hacer una oferta, y sin medias tintas, que le den a Pedro una temporadita tranquila para disfrutar.

La pelota está en el tejado de Carabante.

Insisto, el año pasado, cuando Pedro todavía no tenía lo de Sauber, el tema entre Pedro y HRT no caujó. Por lo que fuera... ahora es probablemente disinto... ¿o quizás no? Insisto, si Pedro quiere, si Carabante también quiere, si los dos están de acuerdo, si el presupuesto del equipo ya está acordado, si Willis está ya en el diseño del próximo año (con lo importante que sería que estuviera ya Pedro ahí...)... en fin, que no deberíla el tema alargarse. Quizás hasta que termine la relación con Pirelli o mejor dicho, los tests.

Lo que más me ha gustado de sus palabras es lo claro que lo tiene (seguro que ya ha tocado en estos 15 días todas las puertas que ha podido) : o tiene asiento en la parrilla, o de tester "nanai". �jala estas semanas pueda tener algo de suerte.

Por cierto lo publicado por Motosport parece sólo parte de una entrevista más amplia :

http://www.formule1.nl/articleview/14988

Imagino, que nadie tendrá acceso a la entrevista completa. ¿No?

DE LA ROSA, EMBAJADOR DEL NUEVO MODELO DE BANCA PERSONAL DE BANCO SANTANDER
04-10-2010

Banco Santander lanza hoy Select, su nuevo modelo global de banca personal dirigido a los clientes con patrimonio superior a 100.000 euros [/b]

El piloto de F1 Pedro de la Rosa es el embajador del nuevo modelo de negocio global de banca personal de Banco Santander, Select, dirigido a los clientes con patrimonio superior a 100.000 euros. De la Rosa es el protagonista del lanzamiento de la campaña comercial, que ahonda en los valores de compromiso y cercanía con el cliente de la estrategia "Queremos ser tu banco".

El piloto ha señalado: "Para conseguir la mejor puesta a punto de tu patrimonio, hay que contar con un gran equipo. Y ese equipo lo encuentras en Banco Santander, el mejor banco del mundo".

De la Rosa ha estado durante años vinculado a la entidad, especialmente cuando trabajaba para McLaren. Entre otras cosas, el piloto entregó becas del banco y dio conferencias sobre liderazgo a empleados.

La nueva propuesta del banco, Santander Select, profundiza en el modelo del servicio integral al cliente, con nuevas ofertas de valor para mejorar el asesoramiento fiscal y financiero personalizado. El objetivo del banco es aumentar la cuota en este segmento hasta el 15% en tres años, lo que supondría ampliar la base de clientes de este colectivo en la red Santander de los cerca de 214.000 actuales hasta más de 300.000.

Enrique García Candelas, director general y responsable de Banca Comercial España, subrayó: "Con el lanzamiento de Select damos un paso más en la mejora de la vinculación y fidelización de nuestros clientes, con nuevas propuestas de valor que nos permiten avanzar en la personalización de la atención a nuestros clientes. Queremos convertirnos en un referente de banca personal en el sector".

Santander Select será la marca para este segmento de clientes a nivel global, con el lanzamiento previsto en España, Brasil, Reino Unido, México, Chile, Argentina y Portugal. El Grupo cuenta en estos países con 3,5 millones de clientes Select.

Cronica de Pedro de Singapur http://www.formulasantander.com/2010-seaso...s/inside-track/

Ponco la parte del futuro:

Personalmente, empieza una nueva etapa como piloto de pruebas de Pirelli F1. Me esperan unos meses de pruebas muy interesantes con los neumáticos que Pirelli está desarrollando para la temporada que viene. Para mi es una gran oportunidad porque es una manera de empezar ya a trabajar de cara al año que viene. Al escribir estas líneas estoy viajando a Colonia para hacerme el asiento en el equipo Toyota ya que estas pruebas las haremos con el Toyota F1 del año pasado. No hay nada mejor que seguir aprendiendo y lo que tengo claro es que cada vuelta que das pilotando un F1 aprendes algo, sea donde sea, en las condiciones que sean y por mucho que te creas que ya lo sabes todo, en este deporte nunca sabes suficiente.

Me da buen rollo la colaboración de Pedro con el Santander, me encantaría que fuese más allá de cubrir parte de su ficha...ojalá.

Misil, está claro que Pedro se decantará por lo mejor que pueda, y si es HRT, pues es HRT, pero yo creo que el mejor destino de los nuevos es Lotus, con el añadido que tiene pilotar para una escudería con ese nombre y ese color en el monoplaza, aunque sea un "remake" de la original.

Saludos!

Está claro que por proyecto, experiencia, y dinero Lotus es la mejor de las escuderías, y nada debería cambiar en el 2011 si la lógica manda, pero esto es Fórmula 1. Veremos.

No empecemos con que la ficha de Pedro vaya a ser un problema para fichar por ninguna escudería. Lo que tiene que haber es un interés real, y una oferta lógica y consecuente con este interés tan profesado en los medios de comunicación, algo que pueda estar al alcance de Pedro. Desde luego si le piden que con él llegue Botín y 20 kilos, lo llevamos claro.

Pedro pasó de McLaren como tester y un buen sueldo, a Sauber cobrando mucho menos. �l tiene sus compromisos publicitarios, y no me creo que este fuera a ser un problema, y más viendo la aventura de Sauber.

Pienso que Pedro abre la puerta a HRT porque es la única puerta que puede abrir, sinceramente.

Dicho esto, me alegro que piense así. Yo quiero verle correr.

Supongo que El Santander tendría esto decidido hace tiempo, pero ¿y si Emilio Botín hubiese tenido en cuenta las recomendaciones del Club de Fans de Pedro en Monza?

Esto sufriendo una paja mental considerable. ¿Cómo interpretáis las palabras de Adam Cooper en su blog? ¿Cómo un simple anuncio de la web Autosport o, del mismo modo que yo, interpretáis que hoy se va a anunciar algo importante sobre Pedro?
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De la Rosa starts Pirelli testing tomorrow

Pedro de la Rosa will start his Pirelli test programme at Valencia tomorrow, having taken over the job from Nick Heidfeld, the man who replaced him at Sauber.

Romain Grosjean filled in at the most recent test at Monza, and remains involved with Pirelli on GP2 development. De la Rosa will run for two days in Spain, focussing on compounds, after earlier tests revolved around constructions.

Im really looking forward to it, Pedro told this blog. Im happy to learn with them and improve the tyres. I can give them my experience, and thats what they needed. Im really, really happy that this deal came through. I will learn a lot and think I will also give quite a lot.

For much more from Pedro check www.autosport.com later today. ¿ ?

http://adamcooperf1.com/2010/10/04/de-la-r...sting-tomorrow/

Me suena a entrevista extensa que le habrán hecho o le harán, o bien a algún tipo de reportaje.

Incluso algun tipo de presentacion, hoy mismo en Valencia........

Yossi, necesitaremos muchas fotos

Por si no empezó a hacerlo en la última carrera, espero que esto también sirva para animar a "alguien" a comerse sus puros y sus decisiones.

esperemos que no le moleste a nadie de autosport..

De la Rosa on getting the sack from Sauber
After being dropped by Sauber ahead of the Singapore Grand Prix, Pedro de la Rosa reflects on his season, the reasons for his departure and his future role as Pirelli's test driver

By Adam Cooper
AUTOSPORT.com contributing writer


Pedro de la Rosa was dropped by Sauber shortly before the Singapore Grand Prix and had to watch in frustration from his home in Switzerland as Nick Heidfeld drive his car.

The Spaniard bounces back this week as test driver for Pirelli, having neatly taken over the Toyota seat vacated by Heidfeld. He will have his first experience of the car and tyres at Valencia on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.

The news of de la Rosa's involvement has been welcomed by the F1 teams, because whoever does the Pirelli work in the coming weeks will play a huge role in determining the direction that the Italian company takes in the build-up to next year.

With due to respect to Romain Grosjean, de la Rosa was always going to be a more popular choice than a guy with half an F1 season behind him and no knowledge of 2010 Bridgestones.

In some ways de la Rosa has landed on his feet, although obviously he'd much rather be out there racing and he's hoping he can return somewhere in 2011.

On paper, this year might not look great, especially when Kamui Kobayashi's points are tallied up. But he endured something of a nightmare season, with poor reliability and assaults from other drivers making it almost impossible for him to make much of an impact.

No doubt looking to next year amid negotiations with sponsors and investors, Peter Sauber clearly felt he had to do something to give the team some momentum, and Pedro paid the price - finding himself dropped with five races to go.

It was on the Sunday evening at Monza that rumours first began to suggest Heidfeld was coming in. De la Rosa says that was the first he knew that something was up.

"To be honest, I was shocked," he says. "I had no indication that they would replace me. It was quite a sad decision from the team, from Peter basically. I was deeply surprised because there were five races to go, we were all pushing hard and we had a new aero package for Singapore.

"We had worked very hard to get there. Okay, Monza was bad, but we knew that this type of low downforce track would be always bad for us. The car had been a lot better in the last two or three races and we knew that we could do it. From my side it was a strange decision, but life goes on and I'll move on."
© LAT

Having waited so long to get a full-time drive, this year promised so much for de la Rosa. It's easy to forget now that during the winter Sauber set some quick times, but by the time the season started that form had proved to be an illusion.

"We were quite confident. The problem was that we had been testing with a lot less fuel than other people. Already at Barcelona, the last test before Bahrain, we saw signs that we were not quick enough. We had too much drag and therefore were very slow on the straights. It was obviously a wake-up call that there was something wrong. Our worries were confirmed in Bahrain.

"The only explanation really was that we were slower than expected mainly because we'd been testing with less fuel than other people, and that when we arrived at circuits with longer straights, our drag penalty was increased and so was our gap in laptime to the leading teams. That was basically it. Also, we should not underestimate the rate of development of the top teams, which was extremely high. From their launch car spec until the Bahrain car they made big steps at every test which we could not match."

Performance was one thing, but the real problem was reliability. In the first eight races he had three engine problems one even before the start in Malaysia and two hydraulic failures.

"We were very unreliable initially, for reasons that had not shown in testing. We had several engine failures, which was completely unexpected and to an extent are still under investigation. It was not normal. We also had several hydraulic problems which we didn't have in testing. I would say the first third of the year was missed with reliability issues which cost us valuable points.

"China was good. It started raining and we decided to stay out with slicks. There was a point when I got up to fourth and it was a very good call from the team to stay out. And on lap six the engine failed and that was that. I was fighting for fourth. Another points finish that slipped through our fingers.

"In Monaco our race pace was extremely competitive, we had a very good strategy and I had a hydraulic problem. Then at Barcelona we were very competitive all weekend until I was hit by a Toro Rosso at the start.

"There were points where we did a very good job as a team, considering our level of performance, but we never managed to materialise the opportunities for one reason or another. And in Formula 1 you always know that when you have a limited budget the first five or six races are the ones where you have to take your opportunities because after that the top teams will just take off in development and open the gap."

It wasn't just reliability. As mentioned, he suffered a puncture when hit by Sebastien Buemi in Spain. He was hit by the spinning Vitaly Petrov in Canada, which led to a stop for a new nose, and he had to retire after an assault from Adrian Sutil at Silverstone.

Valencia somehow typified de la Rosa's run of bad luck. He finished 10th on the road and finally had a result. Then half the field received five-second time penalties for going too fast on the way into the pits after the safety car came out. Pedro dropped to 12th, while nobody else lost points.

"Let's say that I haven't been very lucky this year and this is a clear example. When everyone gets a penalty, or nearly all the drivers, and nothing changes except for me... I lose two positions and drop out of the points. But fair enough, I made a mistake. I should have kept within the delta time. I didn't make many during the year, but this was one."

In the second half of the year things began looking up. He qualified ninth at both Silverstone and Hungary.

"Qualifying at Silverstone was one of the highlights, together with Hungary. Making it into Q3 was not easy this year, the level of competition we were facing was extremely high. It's not only the top four teams, but also you have Renault, Force India and Williams. When the teams introduced the blown diffuser they made big steps.

"So to qualify ninth a couple of times was the highlight of my year, without forgetting the points in Hungary for finishing seventh again on a track with no straights. We were mostly competitive on high-speed corners, that's why we were strong at Silverstone, and our weak point was mainly our high drag levels. The circuits where we were least competitive were Canada and Monza, the low downforce tracks with long straights.

"At Silverstone I had a puncture and a broken rear diffuser when Sutil hit me. In fact he also hit me at Monza in my last race, but this time he damaged his nose. I would have preferred to have had no damage at Silverstone where I was in the points when I had to retire, instead of Monza where we were very uncompetitive.

"At Spa I made a big mistake in qualifying, I went off. I was 22nd as I didn't do a lap. Then we decided to change the engine as well. We were already in the eighth engine by Spa, so we took a ninth and I had to take a 10-place penalty so I started last."

Of course everything in F1 is about the comparison with your team mate. While Kobayashi had also suffered misfortune in the early races, in Valencia and beyond everything began to fall into place for the Japanese driver, and some spirited performances earned him a string of points finishes.

"Kamui is generally a very under-rated driver. Having said that the races that he was up there, or the car was competitive, he could finish every time and obviously he didn't make any mistakes as well.

At the end of the day everyone always looks at the points table. It's always the same, you have to score the goals when you have the chance otherwise your opponents will. But if you look into it on detail we qualified 7-7, which is normal in F1."

That however was not good enough for Sauber. It seems the team felt that as the more experienced driver, de la Rosa should have been ahead all the time. And while Robert Kubica has clearly done that at Renault, it's worth noting that Nico Hulkenberg had outpaced Rubens Barrichello five times.

"Personally, I think I drove well. Some people say he's very experienced, but they forgot about one main thing. There were many races where I hadn't raced since 2002, like Spa or Monaco. Valencia was a new track for me. Going to Monaco was like learning a new track again, eight years without racing there. The others which were fresher I still hadn't been to since 2006. I was learning most of the tracks.

"But you know, I didn't feel rusty at all. I just felt some tracks I dedicated Friday to get back into it more than being able to improve the car. There were other tracks where I was fresher, like Silverstone or Hungary and I was pretty fast straight away."

De la Rosa says he has no regrets about this season: "I came back and I did a solid job. I met some really good people with another approach, another way of working. Generally I would do it tomorrow again it was a very good experience. How it ended was not right, especially with five races to go, but on the other hand I had an interesting time and I did not stop learning. I can only say thank you for the opportunity, even if we should have stayed together pushing until the end of the season."

He hasn't stayed on the sidelines long, however. From the moment of the Sauber announcement it seemed logical he would slip into the Pirelli role.

"I don't think it was that straightforward. Everyone was talking about it, but actually nothing had been discussed between us when everyone was already assuming that it would happen. That's why I was a little bit surprised that people were ahead of what was really going on. Finally it happened and I'm very pleased, but it was not as straightforward as it looked.

"I would say it will be a very interesting experience for me, because it's working with a top tyre manufacturer, and it will give me the opportunity to understand the tyres and keep testing in F1. That's very important for any driver. When you work with a tyre company you just have to be consistent and give very good feedback, and I've always enjoyed doing this in the Michelin days - or even when I was back racing in Japan, with Bridgestone or Yokohama."

The teams will get to try the tyres for the first time at Abu Dhabi after the last race and at the moment it's not clear what Pedro's role will be beyond that.

"It very much depends how the tyre development goes at the next few tests, to define the test programme after that. I think that we have to be very open minded and know where we are. Pirelli's plan now is to focus on compounds and there's a lot of work to be done.

"Until now it's been about constructions. We will see where we are, basically. Nothing is defined. We will test and see how many more tests we will need to fine tune the compounds."

Heidfeld's gameplan was to use Pirelli to get himself back into a race seat, and naturally de la Rosa thinks the same way,

"I will learn, but also it could potentially make me more attractive for next year. Look, it will be difficult, but I'm going to give it 100 per cent again. I don't know which teams will have a seat available or not, but I'm working on it already.

"At the moment, it's better just to have a little bit of perspective of the situation. If I have any meetings to work on for next year and I have to be at any race, then I will, but not just hanging in there doing nothing, it doesn't make sense. I've recovered from worse than this."

At the moment he's got no intention of looking outside F1: "The moment you put one foot out of it, you're never back at my age. So I just keep pushing in the same direction. You never have the wrong age for DTM, WTCC or Le Mans, you know."

He brings up the subject of age and there's no escaping the fact that he has a big birthday coming in February.

"I'll be 40, and it's not an asset at the moment. But physically... When I finish races I'm not tired. I've been sacked, but it's been a good year. Considering the performance level of the team it's been probably my best year in F1. That is why I am so surprised, but also so relaxed."

Eso sí que es un cambio de línea editorial y no la del AS En el foro de Autosport van a saltar chispas. Abstenerse los sensibles. Supongo que Adam Cooper, a parte de llevarse el dinero, habrá puesto como condición que no le toquen ni una coma ni le cambien el enfoque... Edd Straw estará rozando el suicidio en estos momentos, sentirá como su cabecera ha sido mancillada...

Adam Cooper, James Allen y Joe Saward son de largo lo mejor que hay en el mundo periodístico de la Fórmula 1 (en mi opinión, claro).