Formula One news
De la Rosa reminisces on ten years of F1
30 March 2009Pedro de la Rosa was in a thoughtful mood leading up to the weekend of the Australian Grand Prix, as the race marked the tenth anniversary of the Spaniard's F1 debut. His first race took place for Arrows a decade ago, and has since raced for Jaguar before moving to McLaren as test driver in 2003.
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Qualifying 18th for his first race, Pedro recalled bringing his Arrows home in sixth position in the 1999 Australian Grand Prix: "I remember every detail as if it were yesterday: coming out of the pitlane in practice and selecting second, third and fourth gears into Turn One. It was my first Grand Prix and the trip to Australia was like an adventure; I stayed calm for the race because it was my first Grand Prix and I was not expected to score a point. I enjoyed that Grand Prix massively - I will always remember having Michael Schumacher in my mirrors for a few laps, that was a good feeling!"
After two years with Arrows, Pedro moved to Jaguar four races into the 2001 season, and remained there until the switch to McLaren in 2003. Since then, he has raced on nine occasions for the British marque, subsidising for Juan-Pablo Montoya in Bahrain in 2005 and for the final eight races of the 2006 season. Pedro has had frustating moments in his career, however, with perhaps the largest being the turning down of a race seat opportunity in 2007.
"When you first get to Formula 1, you're so used to winning almost every race that it's a bit of a shock to find yourself towards the bottom of the timesheets," he said, describing the transition from smaller formulae. "Your mentality changes a little because you start to lose that killer instinct; it's just something that happens. Looking back now, sixth wasn't too bad but I wanted to be on the podium so badly; and everybody knows that that didn't happen until 2006, so I learned the hard way." Pedro was connected with a Force India race seat for this year, as the team switched to Mercedes engines, although the partnership yielded just one test in Barcelona.
Having spent half of his F1 career with the Woking-based team Pedro, of Barcelona, can be thanked for his contribution to the McLarens of recent years. 214 testing days at ten different venues and 2,966 laps down the line, he is still as popular as ever in the paddock. "I've known Pedro since he joined the team in 2003," Lewis Hamilton said. "His approach, outlook and positivity were an inspiration to me as I prepared to make my Formula 1 debut; his efforts over the years have lifted this team to some phenomenal heights. I am proud of what Pedro has done - and continues to do - for Vodafone McLaren Mercedes, the guy is a legend."
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