De la Rosa: I realized that Hamilton and Alonso are two monsters

Pedro de la Rosa’s career in Formula 1 lasted intermittently from 1999 to 2012, and it so happened that he spent his best races with McLaren, although formally he only had the status of a test driver.

Pedro first replaced Juan Pablo Montoya in Bahrain when he was injured early in the 2005 season, then took over the Colombian’s place in mid-2006 when he fell out with Ron Dennis and parted ways with the British team to pursue a career to pursue in NASCAR.

In an interview with the championship’s official website, de la Rosa recalled the events that took place 17 years ago: “I was thrown into battle, but the decisions were made just before each race, so it was not easy, because they only but called me on Wednesday to say, “Yes, you’re going.”

Ron Dennis wanted Lewis Hamilton to drive a McLaren car as soon as possible, but the engineers supported my candidacy because they needed stability, so I kept racing until the end of the year.”

At the Hungarian Grand Prix he reached the podium for the only time in his career, earning points in five of the eight races he started in 2006. And the following season, Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton would drive for McLaren, with contracts already signed with both.

Pedro was not surprised: “I remember the first time I worked with Lewis in the tests at Silverstone and saw that day that he was a special driver. I was surprised that he showed a high pace after just a few laps.

He was always distinguished by the fact that when he got behind the wheel of a car that was new to him, he immediately drove incredibly confidently and on any unfamiliar track. Just a few laps were enough for him. This was the biggest difference between Lewis and other drivers I saw.

In 2007 I realized that Hamilton and Fernando Alonso were two monsters, two of the best drivers of that time. I then thought, “Okay, I’m going back to my old role as a test driver, but I’m going to be working with two of the best drivers I’ve seen in a very long time.”

Before 2008, when Fernando left the team, I still had the hope that the team would turn to me again, and it even seemed that McLaren was already looking my way and that I would become Lewis’ teammate, but at at the last minute they invited Heikki. Kovalainen.

Then everything changed for me. When they brought Lewis and Fernando, a two-time world champion, to the team instead of me, it didn’t become a problem for me, but when they called Heikki I felt a bit uneasy. I realized they would never contact me again, so I had to look again for a place on another team.”

In 2010, Pedro de la Rosa returned to the championship with Sauber, but that’s another story…