Pedro De La Rosa Joins Ferrari As A Development Driver (VIDEO)

RTVE.es - Ferrari has added Pedro de la Rosa to its development driver line up. The 41 year old Spaniard, who joins his fellow compatriots Fernando Alonso and Marc Gene at the Italian team, will be taking part in technical, racing and commercial activities for the 'Prancing Horse'. "We decided to add De la Rosa to our group of drivers mainly to strengthen one area, namely work in the simulator, which with the current regulations regarding testing, is becoming ever more important," Ferrari Team Principal Stefano Domenicali said. De La Rosa was left without a drive after HRT was unable to find a new buyer to take over the Spanish outfit. He recently said he was not expecting to return to his former team McLaren, but remained confident he would continue in F1 as a test- or a reserve driver. With his amount of experience as a test driver at McLaren (2003-2009 and 2011) De La Rosa will become one of Ferrari's valuable drivers. "It is amazingly motivating to be working for a team like Ferrari, not just because of what it represents in the history of Formula One and motoring in general, but also because it will be a completely new and very stimulating experience for me. I really hope I can get to work as soon as possible and to help in the development of the car. I am happy to be collaborating with Fernando again and also to be working with Felipe. There’s not much time until Australia, but there is a lot to do and I am available to help the team from right now," De La Rosa said. Ferrari also revealed it will be launching its 2013 challenger on February 1 in Maranello, Italy. (in Spanish)