Pedro News Opciones

[pca]

3/4/05

Interview with PDLR
Pedro de la Rosa discusses topping the Friday times and more. By Adam Cooper


De La Rosa: Back on top


The appearance of Pedro de la Rosa's name at the top of the timing screens at the end of second practice in Melbourne did raise too many smiles in the garages of rival teams. They certainly didn't need such an obvious a reminder about the windfall McLaren have earned this year, thanks to finishing fifth in the World Championship last year.

The rule that allows teams to run third cars was designed when there was a 'natural' top four of Ferrari, Williams, McLaren and Renault. Nobody really expected that any of that group would be able to benefit, but BAR's surge up the order last year – ironically assisted in part by Anthony Davidson's Friday efforts – contributed to McLaren dropping into the third driver comfort zone.

The new rules make the Friday driver even more useful than last year. The need to restrict engine miles of the two race cars is obvious, but changes to the tyre regs also mean third cars are priceless.

The team's choice of de la Rosa to handle the testing chores came as a surprise to some, and it seemed logical that old hand Alex Wurz would get the job. But unlike Wurz, Pedro was out running test miles in the 2005 car at an early stage, and the engineers were more than happy to have continuity and have him on hand at the races.

The chance to perform in a top team has come as a lifeline to de la Rosa, who had a frustrating career at Arrows and Jaguar. At neither team did things really fall in his favour, and twice he was left without a job despite having a contract.

Q . You took the quickest time from Michael Schumacher right at the end of the session. Was that a good feeling after two years of testing?

De la Rosa : "Yes it is. It's a strange feeling, first of all. It's nice to be here and have the opportunity to drive a competitive car on a Friday, because it's easier to do a good lap time. But nevertheless, you have to do it. It feels good, especially after two years without racing. The problem we have as test drivers is that you are always testing in the same tracks. You go in Jerez, Barcelona, Valencia, do thousands of laps, and you forget that there are other tracks and you have to adapt to them and learn them. You need to keep the feeling alive, otherwise you just know three or four circuits, and that's it."

Q . How did the day go for you?

De la Rosa : "I'm satisfied especially because we went through the whole programme. It was very ambitious at the beginning, but we actually worked very well on both sets of tyres, achieving two long runs at the end. It's the most important thing, doing a longer run when there's more rubber, and trying to figure out what the degradation on the tyres is. I'm here to help Kimi and Juan Pablo. My job today has been mainly doing long runs, and this will help them pick the right tyre for tomorrow. That's basically it – we haven't been able to do more. The track is changing a lot, it was very dirty to start with and in the first session we did didn't do long runs. We left them for the second session when it was more representative of the race."

Q . You had a moment with one of the Jordans. Was that a little worrying?

De la Rosa : "I thought that he let me go by. I was going and he closed the door, and we just slightly touched. I had to go off and come back. After that the car was OK. I was really worried, because there was a lot of traffic on my long runs. You have to push every lap, because there's no point in long runs doing one slow lap, cooling down the tyres, and pushing again. Then you are fooling yourself. That's why I had to overtake him, and I thought he was letting me by. It didn't work out, but it's no problem."

Q . Was it a surprise to you when Alex Wurz didn't get the Friday job, after all his years with the team?

De la Rosa : "No, I never assumed that it was Alex. I assumed that he was on pole position for the job, because he had been here for a long time. But at the end of the day it's a team decision, and at the end of the day if I get this opportunity it's mainly because I've done a good job in testing, otherwise I wouldn't get it. I'm sorry for him, but there's only place for one. I'm happy to be here and have the opportunity, but I honestly don't know how many races I will do. All I know is I will do the first three, and after that the team will take a decision. I just have to do a good job for them in these few races. And after if it's Alex, good, if it's me, it's better."

Q . Will doing the Friday job help to raise your profile?

De la Rosa : "It's always easier if you're on a Friday than if you're not. It makes you move closer, and they can compare you with other drivers. And all the team bosses are here, the media. I've had really good test days when nobody noticed my laps times. You're testing in a racing environment, and normally you're testing in a testing environment. Team bosses don't go to tests! Still, it's only Friday running, and we shouldn't get too excited about it."

Q . Are you frustrated that people will inevitably say that you're quick because you're on a different agenda?

De la Rosa : "They will always say that. I only have to do what I did in the second session today, which is two long runs on old tyres, and I think that's what we're going to do all year. It's always like that, there will always be guys who say he does more laps than the rest, but you still have to do the lap time!"

Q . How focussed are you on getting back to racing?

De la Rosa : "I'm really not thinking about racing at the moment. I just have to do a good job for the team. And my job cannot be evaluated on Friday, it has to be evaluated at 4pm on Sunday after the race, to see if I have picked the right tyre, and how quick were Kimi and Juan Pablo. If the team is competitive and wins races and wins the championship, I will be very much closer to a race drive, because then my job has been solid and good. But being quick on Friday doesn't mean anything, I wouldn't get carried away by that."

Q . You've driven some bad McLarens in the last couple of years. How good is this car?

De la Rosa : "This car has been quick straight out of the box, we really haven't done much set-up work, because we've been concentrating on reliability. I would say it's competitive. It can be more competitive or should be more competitive in the future when we do more testing. Let's see on Sunday. We shouldn't underestimate Renault, and especially Ferrari. If they're competitive with their old car, then we should be really worried. We're in good shape, but other teams are also. I think it's very open at the moment. I think the only thing we have to do is concentrate on ourselves, pick the right tyre, don't make stupid decisions, and get on with it."

Source: Autosport.com

[pca]

3/10/05

Pedro de la Rosa will train tomorrow in Jerez

Tomorrow Pedro de la Rosa drives alone for McLaren Mercedes in the last day of tests that the team has predicted in Jerez. The Spanish driver will train in the track of Jerez with the MP4/19B replacing Alex Wurz who has been testing since Wednesday.

[pca]

3/11/05 ...

McLaren Mercedes has not run in Jerez

Pedro de la Rosa has not gone out today to the track because of the rain that has fallen in the Andalusian circuit during the early morning. The conditions of the track have not been good to develop the program of tests that the German-Briton team had planned for today.

[pca]

3/18/05

Friday Practice

1st Session: 2nd 1.35.144 (15 laps).
2nd Session: 13th 1.37.033 (31 laps).

2nd overall best time 1.35.144 (46 laps in total).

PEDRO DE LA ROSA
“The majority of my work today has been to evaluate the Michelin tyres and we completed our programme as planned. We gained a lot of useful data for working out the right choice for tomorrow. I think we have a competitive package as a result of a good co-operation with Michelin at a track which is especially demanding for the tyres.”

[pca]

3/22/05

De la Rosa trains from tomorrow in Paul Ricard

Pedro de la Rosa will train tomorrow in the French circuit of Paul Ricard driving the McLaren MP4/19B along with its companion Alex Wurz. The team of Woking will test the new Michelin tires that the French brand has elaborated for the third appointment of the season, the Grand Prix of Bahrein that will take place in the circuit of Sakhir.

[pca]

3/23/05

TEST REPORT PAUL RICARD, DAY 1

Date: Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Location: Paul Ricard, France
Drivers: Alex Wurz and Pedro de la Rosa
Weather: Overcast early morning, sunny from mid morning with blustery spells
Track temperature approx. 19 degrees
Air temperature 15 degrees
Laps run: Pedro de la Rosa 129 laps, Alex Wurz 117 laps
Kilometres covered: Pedro de la Rosa 493 km Alex Wurz 447 km
Best lap time of the day: Anthony Davidson, BAR Honda, 1m04.176s
Best lap time of Team McLaren Mercedes driver: Pedro de la Rosa, 1m04.305s (fourth)
Duration of test: Three days

Team McLaren Mercedes began a three day test at the Paul Ricard circuit in France today with both Alex Wurz and Pedro de la Rosa behind the wheel of MP4-19Bs.

The focus of this week’s test is on tyres, with Alex’s programme today concentrating on finalising the Michelin tyres the team will use at the forthcoming Bahrain Grand Prix.

Pedro meanwhile was focusing on tyre testing for the first European race of the season, the San Marino Grand Prix, and he completed his planned programme without any problems.

Pedro completed 129 laps of the circuit with a fastest time of 1m04.305s, while Alex completed 117 laps with a fastest time of 1m04.613s.

Alex Wurz

“Today was a productive day in which I completed 117 laps. We have to confirm our tyre choices for the Bahrain race today and we completed the planned programme without any issues.”

Pedro de la Rosa

“Whilst Alex was concentrating on Bahrain, I was focusing on the San Marino Grand Prix, which marks a return for Formula One to Europe. The test was very productive today without any problems and I am looking forward to continuing the programme tomorrow alongside Alex.”

Alex and Pedro will both continue the team’s testing programme tomorrow, focusing on tyre choice for the San Marino Grand Prix.

Source: www.mclaren.co.uk

[pca]

3/24/05

TEST REPORT PAUL RICARD, DAY 2

Date: Thursday, March 24, 2005
Location: Paul Ricard, France
Drivers: Alex Wurz and Pedro de la Rosa
Weather: Mixture of dry and wet conditions
Track temperature approx. 15 degrees celsius
Air temperature approx. 14 degrees celsius
Laps run: Alex Wurz 107 laps
Pedro de la Rosa 93 laps
Kilometres covered: Alex Wurz approx 409 km, Pedro de la Rosa approx. 355 km
Total kilometres covered: Alex Wurz 856 km, Pedro de la Rosa 848 km
Best lap time of the day: Ricardo Zonta, Toyota, 1m03.848s
Best lap time of Team McLaren Mercedes driver: Pedro de la Rosa, 1m04.496s (second)
Duration of test: Two days

Team McLaren Mercedes continued its testing programme at the Paul Ricard circuit today with Pedro de la Rosa and Alex Wurz behind the wheel of MP4-19Bs.

As rain fell mid morning, both Alex and Pedro began testing a new Michelin intermediate tyre, both drivers successfully completing a number of long runs.

This afternoon as the track began to dry out, Pedro was evaluating a new front suspension package for the MP4-20, while Alex’s programme was concentrating on further development of the Michelin tyres.

Alex completed 107 laps of the circuit with a fastest time of 1m04.593s, while Pedro completed 93 laps with a fastest time of 1m04.496s.

Alex Wurz

“The weather conditions were challenging today, however during the wet weather we successfully completed intermediate tyre testing, and when the track dried out I was able to concentrate my programme on further development of the Michelin dry tyres.”

Pedro de la Rosa

“Despite the changeable weather conditions we managed to do a lot of work today on both car set-up and also intermediate tyre testing. We have completed a good two days testing programme.”


Team McLaren Mercedes will not test at the Paul Ricard circuit tomorrow.

Source: www.mclaren.co.uk

Well, it seems that McLaren is testing new parts for the MP4/20. Pedro has this responsibility . (He knows better the present car than Wurz).

[pca]

3/27/05

Montoya May Miss the Bahrain GP

Juan Pablo Montoya may be forced to sit-out next weekend's Bahrain Grand Prix after injuring his shoulder playing tennis in Spain at the weekend, Autosport-Atlas can exclusively reveal.

The Colombian hurt his left shoulder while playing tennis with trainer Gerry Convey in Spain on Saturday. His McLaren team has confirmed that he suffered a hairline fracture of the shoulder with some tissue damage after slipping over.

Although the team has claimed a final decision about Montoya's participation will be made later this week, sources claim that Montoya has been advised to rest it for up to three weeks to avoid aggravating the injury. It means that he could miss the Bahrain event but should be back in the cockpit for the San Marino Grand Prix, on April 24th.

A team spokeswoman said: "We will make a final decision on Thursday." That means Montoya could still be forced to fly to Bahrain just in case he is fit enough to race.

It is understood that Montoya is undergoing medical tests today and further tests will be held tomorrow.

If Montoya misses the race it is almost certain McLaren reserve driver Pedro de la Rosa will be called into action to race for the team in Bahrain, after running on the Friday of Grand Prix meetings so far this year in the team's third car.

The difficulty for McLaren will then be in finding a replacement third driver, because fellow test driver Alexander Wurz is too tall to fit in the current version of the team's MP4-20 chassis.

The news of Montoya's accident has come after what has been a fairly disappointing start to the season for McLaren. Although their new car has shown itself to be both quick and reliable, niggling problems have managed to keep both Montoya and teammate Kimi Raikkonen off the podium so far this year.

Montoya's absence from Bahrain will ironically bring some good news to the Colombian, however, because it guarantees that he will not miss the birth of his first child, which is due within the next few weeks.

Source: www.autosport-atlas.com

Well... We may be patient, waiting news.

[pca]

3/30/05

PEDRO DE LA ROSA WILL RACE IN THE GRAND PRIX OF BAHRAIN

It has been officially confirmed.

http://www.mclaren.co.uk/mediaroom/pressre.../0330114930.htm

[Pethead]

YYYEEESSSS! It´s really great news! PDLR hasen´t driven at Baharin before? I hope it won´t affect his driving...
I´m very pleased that PDLR got the chance instead of Wurz, Isn´t Wurz too long to fit in the car? Good luck on Sunday Pedro!
Greeting from Sweden!
/Pethead

[pca]

04/05/05

PEDRO DE LA ROSA TRAINS TOMORROW IN THE "CIRCUIT"

The Spanish driver of McLaren Mercedes will train tomorrow with the MP4/20 in the Circuit of Montmeló. The German-Briton team will prepare until Friday the next two Grand Prix: San Marino and Spain. Alex Wurz will accompany to De la Rosa tomorrow in the Catalan track with the MP4/19B. From Thursday, Kimi Raikkonen will replace the Spanish driver.

[Pethead]

www.planetf1.com!

Norberg Haug may be calling for Pedro de la Rosa to race at Imola if he’s needed, but the Spaniard says it would “fair enough” if Alex Wurz got the next drive.
Despite Wurz having been at McLaren longer than de la Rosa, the latter was given the responsibility of replacing Juan Pablo Montoya at the Bahrain GP. And did so to good effect, finishing the race in fifth place and earning McLaren four World Championship points.

However, Wurz also impressed on the Friday of the race weekend. Acting as the team’s Friday tester, the Austrian ended day one at the top of the timesheets, which means McLaren face the difficult decision of choosing either Wurz or de la Rosa as Montoya’s replacement at Imola – that’s of course if they need someone to fill in for the Colombian.

And rather magnanimously, de la Rosa says it should be Wurz.

"He deserves it, I have no hard feeling's for Alex," he said.

However, the decision doesn’t rest with de la Rosa and Mercedes boss Norbert Haug feels the Spaniard should continue acting as Montoya’s stand-in.

"That is a bit early to say, but for sure Pedro has proven that he deserves to be in Formula One and how much a driver can improve by being a test driver of McLaren-Mercedes,” he told Autosport.

“Without saying anything against Alexander Wurz, I see no reason why Pedro should not compete again for us, if Montoya cannot drive.”

As for de la Rosa’s Bahrain GP, Haug was full of praise, saying: “It was a joy to see how Pedro attacked. For sure, in between he found himself off the track, but that can happen when you drive such a race.”

“He drove the fastest race lap, Kimi the third fastest and that proves to me that we got our third and fifth position deservedly."

[pca]

Thanks Pethead. I think we will have to wait a pair of weeks to have more news and a final decision.

----------------

05/06/05

De la Rosa tops the times at Montmeló

Pedro de la Rosa has obtained today the best time in the tests that are doing this week in the Circuit de Catalunya. His time has been of 1:14.391 and has completed a total of 88 laps to the Catalan track. The Spanish driver has tested a new damper for the MP4/20 installed in his car of today, the MP4/19B. His team-mate Alex Wurz has been driving the MP4/20.

1. Pedro de la Rosa McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:14.391 88
2. Ricardo Zonta Toyota (M) 1:14.516 65
3. Fernando Alonso Renault (M) 1:14.946 118
4. Alex Wurz McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:15.178 65
5. Nick Heidfeld Williams BMW (M) 1:15.337 123
6. Antonio Pizzonia Williams BMW (M) 1:15.442 54
7. Giancarlo Fisichella Renault (M) 1:15.462 78
8. Anthony Davidson BAR Honda (M) 1:15.500
9. Marc Gené Ferrari ( 1:15.737 120
10. Jenson Button BAR Honda (M) 1:16.137 109
11. David Coulthard Red Bull Racing (M) 1:16.385 111
12. Olivier Panis Toyota (M) 1:17.153 47
13. Jacques Villeneuve Sauber (M) 1:18.096

Source of the times: Circuit the Catalunya

[Pethead]

Interview with PDLR about his Bahrain Race, from f1Live.com. Enjoy!

[Pethead]

McLaren driver Pedro de la Rosa reflects back on his unusual race weekend in Bahrain.

How are you feeling having had chance to reflect on the Bahrain race?
“I feel very good, and am even more motivated for testing. It was a good race, I haven’t yet watched it on video but I am going to spend this weekend looking at it and analysing what we as a team could have done better. The people in Spain have also been really supportive to me since the race weekend.”

Did you set yourself a target for the race?
“My target was to finish on the podium, but I didn’t manage to do that. Fifth place is not a fantastic result but if you look at that position in the context of the amount of overtaking I did and setting the fastest lap time, it was a good race. I was aiming for the podium as I knew that it might be my last ever Formula 1 race and I wanted to score a podium finish and get my best ever Grand Prix result.”

What was it like to be back competing in a Grand Prix?
“I didn’t feel rusty at all. At the start I felt a little bit lost and during the race I made a couple of mistakes braking into turn one, but I feel that was due to a lack of racing experience over the past couple of years. At the end of the race I was feeling more confident. I was also happy about my qualifying position as it was the first time I have ever worked to the one lap qualifying format. It is a very easy circuit in which to lock your brakes, and I was happy that I did not make any mistakes during the qualifying sessions. It took a couple of laps to settle in during the Friday practice sessions, but it was quite an easy circuit to learn.”



What for you was your favourite moment of the race?
“My favourite moment was when I overtook Mark Webber two laps from the end of the Grand Prix. He (Webber) was making it extremely difficult – fair but difficult - to overtake, but I found a gap to get through and that for me was a good moment.”

How did you feel as you crossed the chequered flag?
“I felt empty, I felt like I had really given 100 percent. I was mentally tired but feeling physically strong. In fact the race was the first time in any of my Grands Prix I have competed in, that I was able to get some water from the bottle in the car.”

You were testing again on the Wednesday after the race. Were you still feeling tired after the weekend?
“No, not at all. I had spent 24 hours at home and had time to relax. I was feeling very motivated.”

Source McLaren Mercedes

[pca]

4/12/05

Pedro de la Rosa tests this week at Paul Ricard

Pedro de la Rosa tomorrow begins the program of tests that McLaren Mercedes has planned this week in the French circuit of Paul Ricard. De la Rosa will drive the MP4/20 to prepare along with Alex Wurx the Grand Prix of San Marino (April 24) and the Grand Prix of Spain (May 8). The Austrian driver also will use a unit of the new car.

[pca]

4/13/05

De la Rosa the quickest again

Pedro de la Rosa has again been the fastest in the private training that the team McLaren Mercedes is doing this week in the French circuit of Paul Ricard. Today the Spanish driver has stopped the time in 1:03.441 and has completed 163 laps to the French track.

1. Pedro de la Rosa McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:03.481 163
2. GianCarlo Fisichella Renault (M) 1:03.843 171
3. Franck Montagny Renault (M) 1:03.901 159
4. Olivier Panis Toyota (M) 1:03.916 120
5. Enrique Bernoldi BAR Honda (M) 1:03.958 182
6. Ricardo Zonta Toyota (M) 1:04.216 99
7. Takuma Sato BAR Honda (M) 1:04.320 137
8. Alex Wurz McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:04.338 102
9. Antonio Pizzonia Williams BMW (M) 1:04.942 119
10. Nick Heidfeld Williams BMW (M) 1:06.086 109
11. Narain Karthikeyan Jordan Toyota ( 1:07.413 40

Not official times.

[pca]

4/14/05

Second day for Pedro de la Rosa at Paul Ricard

The Spanish driver has done a total of 89 laps with the MP4/20 and has stopped the time in 1:03.863.

Tomorrow it will be the last day of training that McLaren Mercedes does before the Grand Prix of San Marino. The German-Briton team will continue tomorrow the test work with its two test drivers in track.

1. Takuma Sato BAR Honda (M) 1:02.839 179
2. Jenson Button BAR Honda (M) 1:03.093 177
3. Antonio Pizzonia Williams BMW (M) 1:03.240 155
4. Olivier Panis Toyota (M) 1:03.312 163
5. Giancarlo Fisichella Renault (M) 1:03.554 120
6. Ricardo Zonta Toyota (M) 1:03.567 179
7. Alex Wurz McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:03.790 139
8. Pedro de la Rosa McLaren Mercedes (M) 1:03.863 89
9. Franck Montagny Renault (M) 1:04.017 151
10. Narain Karthikeyan Jordan Toyota ( 1:05.816 183
11.Nick Heidfeld Williams BMW (M) 1:06.474 7

Not official times.

[pca]

4/15/05

Pedro de la Rosa's last day in Paul Ricard

Pedro de la Rosa has finalized today the tests that McLaren Mercedes has developed this week in Paul Ricard.

The climatology of Paul Ricard today has allowed McLaren Mercedes to test with different types of tires. With a dry morning and a wet afternoon. The tests of today have been made in a shortest version of the French track.

1. Pedro de la Rosa McLaren Mercedes (M) 57.276 104
2. Alex Wurz McLaren Mercedes (M) 58.102 96
3. Tiago Monteiro Jordan (M) 1:00.505 66

Not official times.

[pca]

4/19/05

Pedro will not be racing at Imola[b]

It has been confirmed by McLaren official internet site.

http://www.mclaren.com/season/grandsprix/04sanm/preview.htm