Pedro de la Rosa says he has not given up on returning to the F1 grid one day soon.
The Spaniard, who turns 36 next month, missed out on the race seat alongside countryman and world champion Fernando Alonso for 2007 but will stay at the McLaren team as a tester.
Musing about the missed opportunity, de la Rosa said: “My nationality and my age — in that order — stood against me.
“All the teams want to find a new Schumacher.”
The former racer for Arrows, Jaguar and McLaren, however, vowed to not give up on adding to his tally of 71 grands prix, despite the setback for the ’07 season.
“You never know how a season is going to develop,” said Pedro, after Ron Dennis recently promised Spanish journalists that de la Rosa is front of the queue should rookie Lewis Hamilton not get up to speed.
Presumably referring to team chief David Richards’ possibly Mercedes-powered debut with Prodrive in 2008, de la Rosa also noted: “A new team with free cockpits is coming into F1 in 2008.”
GMMF1
DailyF1News.com
