McLaren confirm de la Rosa for Brazil
Discussion
McLaren confirmed on Friday that Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa will race for them in next week's Brazilian Grand Prix, ending any hope of Briton Lewis Hamilton making his Formula One debut this season.
The Mercedes-powered team had delayed confirming their line-up for the final race of the year at Interlagos until after Hamilton and de la Rosa had tested at Jerez this week.
Although 21-year-old Hamilton set the second fastest time on Thursday, with only Ferrari's Michael Schumacher quicker than him, McLaren confirmed that they would be sticking with the experienced de la Rosa.
"After the disappointing race we had in Suzuka, I am looking forward to getting back on track and working with the team to finish the year on a high," de la Rosa said in a team preview.
"The test in Jerez this week has been positive, with a lot of the focus on tyres with Michelin and as a result we feel confident we will be able to get more out of them at Interlagos," he added.
Hamilton, 21, remains a leading candidate to race for McLaren next year alongside Spanish world champion Fernando Alonso who arrives from Renault.
Brazil will be Kimi Raikkonen's farewell to the team before joining Ferrari as Schumacher's replacement next year while de la Rosa has been a stand-in since Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya left for NASCAR in July.
McLaren will be looking to Raikkonen as their best and last hope of winning a race this year to ensure they do not finish a season without a victory for the first time in a decade.
"I am of course sad to be leaving the team," McLaren quoted the Finn as saying. "We have had some great times together and it would be fantastic to go out with a win."
The Mercedes-powered team had delayed confirming their line-up for the final race of the year at Interlagos until after Hamilton and de la Rosa had tested at Jerez this week.
Although 21-year-old Hamilton set the second fastest time on Thursday, with only Ferrari's Michael Schumacher quicker than him, McLaren confirmed that they would be sticking with the experienced de la Rosa.
"After the disappointing race we had in Suzuka, I am looking forward to getting back on track and working with the team to finish the year on a high," de la Rosa said in a team preview.
"The test in Jerez this week has been positive, with a lot of the focus on tyres with Michelin and as a result we feel confident we will be able to get more out of them at Interlagos," he added.
Hamilton, 21, remains a leading candidate to race for McLaren next year alongside Spanish world champion Fernando Alonso who arrives from Renault.
Brazil will be Kimi Raikkonen's farewell to the team before joining Ferrari as Schumacher's replacement next year while de la Rosa has been a stand-in since Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya left for NASCAR in July.
McLaren will be looking to Raikkonen as their best and last hope of winning a race this year to ensure they do not finish a season without a victory for the first time in a decade.
"I am of course sad to be leaving the team," McLaren quoted the Finn as saying. "We have had some great times together and it would be fantastic to go out with a win."
i tihkn its the better decision. DLR should not be pushed back because of Hamilton and I would want Hamilton to start withthe right level of preparation and supoprt. i am not saying that they would not support him nor that he is unprepared, but it would be better if the team were not fresh off the back of the Japanese GP and Hamilton only given a short period of time to prepare for his GP debut rather than all winter..
I wouldn't want to throw him into the deep end after only 2 testing sessions. Especially to a circuit he's never driven. They don't get that much track time and if he didn't put in a performance to match the hype then people might start to question him (only the really stupid goldfish brained ones though).
Just let him get on with some winter testing without the glare of the media and publicity pressure of an in the pocket McLaren drive and meantime as GrandPrix.com said, Ron can milk the attemtion they are getting as it takes peoples minds off what has been a really crap year for McLaren (no wins).
Just let him get on with some winter testing without the glare of the media and publicity pressure of an in the pocket McLaren drive and meantime as GrandPrix.com said, Ron can milk the attemtion they are getting as it takes peoples minds off what has been a really crap year for McLaren (no wins).
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