Pedro De La Rosa will return to Formula One next season after being announced as the second BMW Sauber driver on Tuesday.
The 38-year-old Spaniard, who has been McLaren’s test and reserve driver for several years, completes the team’s line-up alongside the highly-rated Kamui Kobayashi.
“Pedro has spent many years working for a top team at the highest technical level,” said team principal Peter Sauber. “We as a team stand to gain from his experience, and the same goes for young Kamui.
“The combination of a seasoned racer and an up-and-coming young driver has repeatedly proved a very fruitful one. I don’t expect either of them to disappoint in 2010.
“Of course it is also crucial that we provide them with a decent car; I feel positive about our in-house progress on that front too. We were able to continue work on our 2010 car as scheduled throughout the recent period of uncertainty.”
De La Rosa is also delighted to be returning to Formula One, having last raced at the Brazilian Grand Prix in 2006.
“I always firmly believed I would be given another chance as a team driver,” he said. “Since the number of test drives were radically reduced, this was what I was working towards.
“I’m really excited about the season with Peter Sauber’s team, which has been a solid fixture in Formula 1 ever since 1993.”
