Testing time for de la Rosa

Pedro de la Rosa claims he will be McLaren’s third driver for the early part of this season.

The Spaniard revealed McLaren bosses had guaranteed him the role of Friday tester and reserve driver for the first three races of the season in Australia, Malaysia and Bahrain.

McLaren are able to take advantage of a third car on Fridays by virtue of their poor performance last season, which left them outside the top four in the constructors’ championship.

De la Rosa, who faces competition for the role from fellow tester Alex Wurz, told Spanish newspaper AS: “They have guaranteed me the Australian, Malaysian and Bahrain Grands Prix.

“For the ones after that they will decide whether to give Wurz the job or stick with me. But for the moment I am only concerned about those three races.

“I am returning to the front line. In private testing you cover thousands of kilometres every year, at race pace even, but nobody sees you there.”