After weeks of flirting, the Sauber team have finally announced that former McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa will make his return to the F1 grid with them in 2010, driving alongside Kamui Kobayashi in the dullard Swiss team.
De la Rosa, who last raced in F1 back in 2006 when he deputised for the departed Juan Montoya at McLaren, will join up with the newly BMW-less Sauber team from next season in a deal that Sauber officially confirmed on Tuesday morning. De la Rosa has been McLaren's test driver since 2003, and previously raced for Arrows and Jaguar across 71 grands prix.
The Spaniard was in the frame for the seat for a while, though recent reports suggested that Ferrari tester Giancarlo Fisichella was the favourite for the seat, with Sauber engine supplier Ferrari looking to give their reserve driver some on-track experience in 2010.
But that deal has not come to pass, and de la Rosa will join ultra-bonkers Japanese youngster Kobayashi in Peter Sauber's team, and the team principal of the Swiss team said that the Spaniard's experience would be crucial for his team this season.
"Pedro has spent many years working for a top team at the highest technical level," Sauber grinned when announcing the deal, "We as a team stand to gain from his experience, and the same goes for young Kamui.
"The combination of a seasoned racer and an up-and-coming young driver has repeatedly proved a very fruitful one. I don't expect either of them to disappoint in 2010. Of course it is also crucial that we provide them with a decent car."
Sauber added that: "I feel positive about our in-house progress on that front too. We were able to continue work on our 2010 car as scheduled throughout the recent period of uncertainty."
De la Rosa himself insisted that he had always felt he had a return to F1 in him, after spending so long in the testing sidelines.
"I always firmly believed I would be given another chance as a team driver," de la Rosa blubbed, "Since the number of test drives were radically reduced, this was what I was working towards. I'm really excited about the season with Peter Sauber's team, which has been a solid fixture in Formula One ever since 1993."
De la Rosa had been down to drive the new McLaren at Valencia on February 1st, and it is unclear who will take over testing duties for the Woking team, though they did recently confirm that Gary Paffett would remain as test driver with them for another season.
The de la Rosa announcement means that only four seats remain for 2010, one at Renault and Campos and both of the USF1 seats.
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