That was funny. I'd forgotten about that.

I don't like this decision, hope time will prove me wrong.

Nah, McLaren's paying. They want notes on how the Ferrari engine works, and they rely on de la Rosa to trace the engine's strong and weak patches

inmense pedro!!! you really deserved it man, now it's time to blow all these unbelievers away...pedro rules!!!

Hehe, so doubling people get explaining the reasons Pedro got signed when the driver they wanted wasn't chosen...


Money talks... 5 millions in F1 XD

I think the reason Sauber didn't choose Fisco is because Ferrari would have requested that they be something like their B team, and Sauber didn't want that so he chose Pedro instead.

He wasn't considered because unlike Massa, Alonso, Kimi, Schumacher, Hamilton and others, he didn't have a strong figure from F1 pushing for him nor sponsors.

And precisely because of limit testing signging a guy who has tested a lot makes a lot of sense.



I really hope that if Pedro prove some people wrong they are brave to admit they were wrong.-

I thought Kobayashi wasn't bringing any dosh with him, let alone Panasonic? Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see the logo on the car (which looks great on racing cars IMO), but I thought those rumours were quashed. Let's hope otherwise!

Pedro is a fast driver. Period. With a good lean team around him he's as good as anyone. He's probably as good as Button - that's what's really funny. C'mon Pedro! Go Sauber!

Nice joke.

I'm only half joking, I really believe he's fast. Chez Mclaren that's a known fact.
I'll be cheering for both Koba and Pedro.

If he was that fast they would have dumped Kovalainen and given him the seat.

I don't believe it works that way. F1 is hardly that straightforward. Lot's of interested parties, accommodation. They might have been disappointed with Kovalainen, but the team revolves around Lewis anyway. Button is in a unique situation to change that.

Good News !!

A great pair by Sauber, a good job Peter Sauber.

I wanna see Pedro at his best again.

Check my post on de la Rosa in theis thread; I've posted all his qualifying performances and those of his teammates to show people that he was (and hopefully still is) a very fast driver, he trashed Verstappen in qualy at Arrows and he matched Irvine's pace.

Sauber won't loose any TV money as they... don't have one. They did not sign Concorde Agreement mid last year so they are not entitled to it.

The delay with name change is that change now requires agreement of all Teams. So they probably do this only when they will have confirmed title sponsor to use in new name.

The icing on the cake for Sauber is to imagine faces of BMW Board in Munich when they will keep reading every second Monday about BMW named car being lapped twice by Mercedes haha

Plus, the driver profiles for the Sauber drivers haven't been listed on the official site yet because they are yet to turn up on an entry list. But they won't need the numbers until March anyway.

I expect the FIA to release an updated entry list when all the drivers are announced that confirms Saubers numbers (likely to be 26 and 27)

OMG, if now Pedro goes to Sauber... Now I'm thinking it is not such a nice idea... Mainly because Pedro was the only commentator in the Spanish TV that was worth of being heard... Now who will hold Lobato's idiocies? :S

Qualifying is nice but it's about getting points in the race. Verstappen got 5 points that year Pedro got 2. Irvine also got a lot more points against Pedro.

A surprising choice by Peter Sauber. It's turning out to be the year of the old guys. Schumi returns at 41, PDLR returns @ 38. All we need now is Villeneuve in the Renault for the hat trick.

Good luck to PDLR this season.

That´s a cause of concern in Spain, trust me

Anyway, i´m willing to pay the price, Pedro deserved a driver seat for a while, he finally got it, i´m very happy for him.


They might turn to Joan Villadelprat, i don´t know, maybe a F1 specialist journalist like Manel Serra, i guess Marc Gené is a very difficult target.

I think Gene did Pedro's job for T5 in 2006 when he replaced Montoya. Seems the perfect choice, even more now with Alonso in Ferrari.

Fisi was the paid driver this time. No way to sign a ferrari driver "just" for save near than 2 millions of the 6 millions engines deal and of course... the salary of Giancarlo.

Peter Sauber made a big mistake, let's see what his options were:

Heidfeld; quick, reliable, experienced
Fisichella: quick but randomly, experienced, $$
Petrov: $$$$$
de la Rosa: Slow $?

Heidfield quick? just ask to Robert.

Well, not slow for sure?



looks like petrov grabbed by renault, but who knows. For sure not good option for kamui's partner.

No bias eh?



l really hope they pick Gene. Test drivers don't have much stuff to do these days and his views would be pretty much welcome.



8 points are "a lot of points"? And specially taking into account both suffered from an insane number of engine failures and that the time Irvine got more points was when there were 18 retirements?

If I remember correctly, Irvine was faster more often than not. Something like a bit over 2 tenths on average. Verstappen versus de la Rosa was an even fight. Points are not always the whole truth, as you say. De la Rosa performed likevise against Kimi at McLaren as Fisi at Ferrari, but at least he was familiar with the car. I'm not excepting much at this age anymore from him. Journeyman, he is there mostly for his experience and the $$. Koba is their star, although I'm not sure if he really is a star.

I am very sorry, but if you think that Heidfeld or Fisichella would not have beaten de la Rosa (just like Irvine and Verstappen did), then you are kidding yourself.

Those who defend de la Rosa... are you guys for real? This is a joke at best, Sauber lost his mind.

Like he would never beat Wurz, right? Or Paffett...
Fisichella was beaten by Kovalainen which I now think it's a disgrace. Fisi did beat Jenson which might be an indication that Jenson will suck, paired against Lewis... I wouldn't take anything for granted in F1. Things can and will change. Perception can be deceptive.
Bear in mind that when Pedro was at Jaguar, in his second year, he was the guy on the grid who usually started with an heavier fuel load. Maybe the new rules will suit him.

I don't understand why people are so surprised today that it isn't Heidfeld, when Peter Sauber had already flat out said he wasn't going to sign Heidfeld a couple days ago. I suppose you guys missed that? It was on an interview to some swiss newspaper and it was all over several threads, including this one.

Now WHY Heidfeld wasn't considered is still a bit of a mystery. I thought that might be because of Nick already having a deal with Renault, but if that was the case we would've heard more about it by now.

Your nick name says it basically

No bias here

Btw, I don't think making BADoer look average by comparison last year did Giancarlo any favours in his seek of a drive this year.

Maybe the team just prefers to go forward and try something new, rather than sticking to the past? Also $$ must count.

I think heidfeld said NO hoping for Merc seat, and after schumi came up it was to late.

http://www.lasextadeportes.com/videos/ver/..._emitido/224383

From 4:00 mins PDLR interview (Spanish).

lawls... yes, I'm for real. Because 1) i'm not biased 2) i'm not insane 3) i trust a man who's ran a successful sports car team, relatively stable and successful F1 team, and is a savvy businessman over some guy on an F1 forum to make the right decisions that will bring a positive outcome to his team. Sauber could have easily walked away when he sold the team to BMW and not bothered with repurchasing it. He cares. He's not about to hire a person that would compromise his team's future.

Then again I'm guessing you're just a Fisi fanboy so I'll stop there since there's no getting through fanboys.

Its amazing the venomous hate being spit towards Pedro here... They have the face to call him a PAY DRIVER. wow.

He is in F1 ON MERIT. Repeat after me.... ON MTF MERIT! You've got to at least respect that!

Heidfeld is better than Pedro in...what exactly? kUbica made him look like a fool last year. I bet Sauber loved that.

Fisichella just lost his touch after the beatdown that Mr Alonso put on him. Hes a good driver.. and so is PDLR.

People here make a driver that has won IT ALL before F1 look like hes a dud behind the wheel. PATHETIC.

Pay driver... what a joke.

Cheering for de la Rosa doesn't make sense. The guy made Verstappen look good (the guy, who have been blown away by Schumacher in 94), Irvine beaten him soundly too. His return to the McLaren was a failure.

One fake podium, and a couple of minor points here and there, and that's all. He couldn't hold a candle to neither Fisi nor Heidfeld. His results are just hacks compared to the other two, let alone WDC drivers.

they look like two grandpas here:]

I smell bitterness. Maybe your nick and the fact that Fisichella was being considered is a hint. Hmmm

Yep, agree with your points.

No surprise that Nick wasn't one of the drivers.

Mystery why he's been excluded.

I've met De La Rosa as a fan, and he was quite the gentleman.

Fair play to him, he's got the gig.

Lets hope he does well.

If he proves to be quick I'll happily admit I was wrong, but don't forget he hasn't tested for the best part (maybe longer) of a year.

I believe Santander is sponsoring McLaren to reach the UK public, not the Spanish. They do not need a Spanish driver in McLaren

McLaren itself is worth of sponsoring, and in fact not much has changed - pedro was test driver only

1000!