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Despite being in Formula One since 1999, Pedro de la Rosa has only completed three full seasons in the sport. He now ranks among the most experienced test drivers in F1 and up until 2009, when in-season testing was banned, he racked up countless miles in McLaren's race winning machinery.

His interest in motorsport started with radio controlled cars in 1983 and eventually progressed to karts when he was 17. He progressed steadily through the lower formula, starting in Spanish Formula Ford, winning in Spanish Formula Renault and spending two years in the midfield of British Formula 3.

A move to the far-east came in 1995, and he flourished. In his first year he won the Japanese Formula 3 championship and then the Formula Nippon title (equivalent to F3000) followed two years later.

He got his F1 break with Jordan, which ran him as a test driver for 1998, then, in 1999, he secured his first race seat at Arrows. He scored a point in his first grand prix but failed to better or repeat that result for the rest of the season. He stayed at the team for 2000 but struggled, this time picking up two points over the course of the year.

He moved to Jaguar in 2001 as test driver and replaced Luciano Burti as race driver after the fourth round. The Ford-backed squad had high hopes but the car was far from perfect, and he only went one better than his previous season - scoring three points. Another year at the team in 2002 proved even worse. He scored no points, retired from more than half the races and was out-performed by Eddie Irvine.

Three years in the wilderness followed as he tested for McLaren and only competed in one grand prix. He was highly respected by the team but always maintained he would return as a permanent race driver. His chance came in 2006 when Juan Pablo Montoya left the team after crashing into team-mate Kimi Raikkonen at the US Grand Prix. As third driver de la Rosa got the seat for the remaining eight races. While he didn't come close to matching Raikkonen he did score his first podium and 19 points - far more than at any other point in his career.

He was linked to a drive at McLaren in 2007 but Ron Dennis chanced his luck on a young rookie named Lewis Hamilton instead. He has been in the team's test-role ever since, but has been thrown into the mix for a Force India drive due to his connections with engine-supplier Mercedes.

Strengths and Weaknesses
His consistency and experience has served him well as a test driver but his lack of ultimate pace has kept him in that role at McLaren.

Career High
A second place in the wet at the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix proved he was capable of mixing it with the best when given the right machinery.

Career Low
Being caught sending emails about Ferrari's technical details during the spygate controversy that saw his team fined $100 million.

Quotes
"I would be very happy to be at McLaren Mercedes as the reserve driver and arrange my work to race in another team as well, or simply go to another team to race."

"With sponsors everything would be infinitely easier but I believe that my experience in F1 is very important. My experience is my sponsor."

Trivia
His favourite hobby is building and flying remote control helicopters.

Laurence Edmondson November 2009