Rogue Profile of Pedro de la Rosa

“In horrendous weather conditions like this, it highlights the need to re-address the regulations on the numbers of tyre sets we are permitted to use. If the whole weekend proves to be wet, we will not have enough wet tyres to get through our job list before race day,” Pedro said. “The grooved tyre regulation of having three sets available on a Friday should also be applied to the wets. Today, for example, we have been hanging around for fear of not wanting to waste a set of tyres. A total of seven wet sets also includes the intermediates and this isn’t enough. If we had used three sets today, for example, that would leave us with a total of four to cover tomorrow’s warm-up, qualifying and the race. The fans deserve to see more cars on the track and this regulation isn’t conducive to achieving maximum mileage in wet conditions.”

“It was a frustrating qualifying session to say the least. The weather conditions were far drier than we expected this morning and although this helped the R3, we could certainly have done with higher temperatures in order to extract the best from the tyre package,” he said. “The Michelin tyre always works better in hotter conditions and with this being an aero circuit, we are having big problems in generating any heat into the tyres. The team and I will be working hard to provide the optimum set- up for the race tomorrow. Unless something extraordinary happens, we won’t kid ourselves into thinking about points tomorrow.”

“What a disappointing way to exit from your home race!” he said. “As I braked into turn six, the back-end of the car snapped and before I could do anything about it, the car was stuck in the gravel. I’m not sure whether it was the car or me. Either way, this Spanish Grand Prix is one that I’ll want to forget about. We have a very tough few weeks ahead of us and until July, when our new aero package arrives, we have no choice but to contest some frustrating races.”

In Friday’s second practice session Pedro de la Rosa avoided a big accident by
the skin of his teeth. By dialling in heavy dose of opposite lock, he managed
to control his Jaguar when it stepped out through the Parabolica. Despite the
car leaving the track, the Spaniard was able to keep control over the gavel at
speeds in excess of 130mph, narrowly missing the barriers and a camera position
as he rejoined the main straight. However, he had damaged his R3′s undertray,
leaving him to grapple with excessive much understeer for the rest of the session.

"I’m very pleased with today’s results. The car feels well balanced
and feels like a solid racecar. It hasn’t, however, come as a big surprise given
what we have learned during our tests at Monza. Combine this with the on-going
work being undertaken to correct issues from earlier in the season and we are
now beginning to reap some reward," Pedro said. "The Michelin
tyres are very good and the Cosworth V10 is a major asset around this super-quick
track. Today was a problem- free day apart from a narrow escape in the second
session when I ran wide at the Parabolica. I went off at very high speed, kept
my foot buried on the throttle and somehow managed to correct the car and find
my way back onto the track. It was a lucky escape which could well have ended-up
as a big shunt. One has to explore the limits and let’s just say that I now know
where the limit is around that particular corner!"