Pedro de la Rosa

Interesting facts

Born in Barcelona, he took an unusual path into racing, starting not in karts but in radio-controlled cars - winning three straight domestic championships from 1983 to 1985 - before moving into real karting at 17. He won the Japanese Formula Nippon championship in 1997, and in the same year claimed the All-Japan GT Championship's GT500 title alongside co-driver Michael Krumm. He scored a point on his F1 debut for Arrows at the 1999 Australian Grand Prix, finishing sixth. He spent nearly seven years as McLaren's test driver, from 2003 to 2009 - by early 2010 the fifth most experienced test driver in F1 history - and his sole Grand Prix podium came in 2006, when he stepped in for Juan Pablo Montoya and finished second at the Hungarian Grand Prix. He was elected chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association by unanimous vote in March 2008, and later, as technical and sporting director for the Techeetah Formula E team in 2018-19, helped the team win the championship. Pedro de la Rosa made his Formula 1 debut in 1999 and raced until 2012, 9 seasons in total as a Spanish driver. He scored a total of 35 championship points over his career. His best season was 2006, when he finished 11th in the championship with 19 points.