Pedro News Opciones

[pca]

5/13/05

Pedro de la Rosa the fastest at Paul Ricard

Pedro de la Rosa has been again the fastest driver in track this morning in the circuit of Paul Ricard in its configuration 1E. The Spanish driver has been preparing the Grand Prix of Canada that will be celebrated on the 12th of June in Montreal. He has made a time of 1:23.817 completing 48 laps.

Alex Wurz has suffered a spectacular accident without consequences so the teams have been testing in the evening in the shorter configuration 2E of the French track because the protections that the Austrian driver has hit were broken.

In the evening, Pedro has been seventh stopping the time in 1:01.667 after completing a total of 61 laps.

Morning times

1. Pedro de la Rosa McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:23.817 48
2. Alex Wurz McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:23.936 39
3. Franck Montagny Renault (M) 1:23.982 60
4. Ricardo Zonta Toyota (M) 1:24.002 29
5. Heikki Kovalainen Renault (M) 1:24.474 88
6. Takuma Sato BAR Honda (M) 1:24.609 48
7. Jenson Button BAR Honda (M) 1:24.640 49
8. Olivier Panis Toyota (M) 1:25.134 23
9. David Coulthard Red Bull Racing (M) 1:25.341 47
10. Christian Klien Red Bull Racing (M) 1:25.948 73
11. Jacques Villeneuve Sauber Petronas (M) 1:27.01

Evening times

1. Takuma Sato BAR Honda (M) 1:00.744 131
2. Ricardo Zonta Toyota (M) 1:00.822 98
3. Olivier Panis Toyota (M) 1:00.933 65
4. Heikki Kovalainen Renault (M) 1:01.052 66
5. Franck Montagny Renault (M) 1:01.343 22
6. Jenson Button BAR Honda (M) 1:01.477 64
7. Pedro de la Rosa McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:01.667 61
8. Christian Klien Red Bull Racing (M) 1:01.810 31
9. Jacques Villeneuve Sauber Petronas (M) 1:02.595 54
10. David Coulthard Red Bull Racing (M) 1:02.949 58

Not official times.

[pca]

Well, here in this topic we will post English news about Pedro.

I start, copied from the Spanish Forum:

McLaren's third car is 'key'
Third driver believes that extra Friday running may be crucial for McLaren. By Jonathan Noble

McLaren third driver Pedro de la Rosa has told autosport.com that he believes the Woking-based team must make the most of its extra car on the Fridays of grand prix weekends if the team is to capitalise on the promise of its MP4-20.

The Mercedes Benz-powered team's 2005 challenger has been marked out as one of the pre-season favourites for victory in Melbourne, but de la Rosa is adamant that with rivals Renault showing as much speed in testing up until now, the third car could provide the added muscle needed to lift McLaren to the top.

Speaking to autosport.com about the team's chances for the year, a beaming de la Rosa could not hide his confidence about the MP4-20 and was eagerly awaiting getting on with his Friday role.

“We have made a very good car - that is the truth,” said de la Rosa. “And Michelin has made a very big step forward. We really have to take advantage of having the third car, which is my job. It's a lot of responsibility on me and I'm very happy to take that."

McLaren's dismal start to the 2004 campaign, where its MP4-19 was left struggling near the back of the field, meant the outfit could manage no better than fifth overall in the constructors' championship – even though the transformed MP4-19B helped Kimi Raikkonen win in Belgium.

That fifth placed finish means that McLaren qualifies to run the third car on the Friday of grand prix weekends throughout 2005 – a factor that could prove a massive advantage. Last year BAR benefitted from the input of Anthony Davidson with its third car.

De la Rosa added: "The car is very quick, and it's so driveable. You don't have to fight the car this year, and so far we haven't had any engine problems. Reliability is good. In terms of speed, Renault are on a par with us, so we have to be careful, but we are very well prepared for the season and let's see in Melbourne.”