Pedro de la Rosa

Pedro Martínez de la Rosa (born 24th February, 1971 in Barcelona, Spain) is a Spanish Formula One driver whose Grand Prix career spanned twenty years between 1998 and 2018.

Formula One

1998-1999: Stewart & Arrows

Following an excellent 1997 in Japan, where he'd picked up both the Formula Nippon and All-Japan GT titles, De la Rosa was courted by a number of Formula One teams ahead of the 1998 season. In the end, it would be with Stewart Grand Prix where he'd find his first home in the top flight of motorsport, albeit as a test driver. De la Rosa was close to a debut midway through that year, but an unexpected win for Jan Magnussen secured the Dane's position.

Stewart's signing of Dario Franchitti caused De la Rosa to seek an alternative for 1999 and as such he'd sign for Benetton Arrows, racing alongside Rubens Barrichello. He would take a third place in the third race of the season at Imola, before following this result up two races later with an unexpected win on the streets of Monaco. De la Rosa would finish the season in seventh place, two points more than his more experienced teammate Barrichello.

2000: Ferrari

An unexpected win in Monaco the previous year meant that De la Rosa had offers from the leading teams in Formula One; McLaren and Ferrari, as well as an option to remain with Arrows. In the end, the departure of David Coulthard from Ferrari saw De la Rosa fulfil the dreams of many young drivers and don the famous red of the Scuderia.