McLaren has confirmed media reports that substitute driver Pedro de la Rosa will remain at the wheel of his McLaren for at least two more races.
”We told him before (Hungary),” managing director Martin Whitmarsh is quoted as saying by ‘AS’ in Spain.
He said 35-year-old de la Rosa, who is the team’s regular test driver, has ‘exceeded expectations’ since replacing the NASCAR-bound Juan Pablo Montoya in France last month.
Whitmarsh said the strategists on the Budapest pitwall were ‘anxious’ when Pedro went wheel-to-wheel with Michael Schumacher towards the end of the race, ‘but he kept his cool’.
The fact that de la Rosa is only confirmed for Istanbul and Monza, however, is likely to renew speculation that McLaren protege Lewis Hamilton could be drafted in at the conclusion of his GP2 campaign.
But ‘AS’ also quoted Ron Dennis as saying: ”(Pedro) is doing an excellent job and he is somebody who perfectly represents the spirit of our team.” gmmf1dailyf1news.com
