De la Rosa to be Ferrari reserve in 2013

Pedro de la Rosa will be Ferrari’s official reserve driver at grands prix this year.

Earlier, the Italian team announced that the 2012 HRT driver - 41-year-old Spaniard de la Rosa - will be a development driver this year, working especially in the Maranello simulator.

But according to Spain’s AS newspaper, team boss Stefano Domenicali has confirmed that the former long-time McLaren test driver will also be Ferrari’s official reserve in 2013.

"I hope this (replacing Fernando Alonso or Felipe Massa) doesn’t have to happen, but he could be a (race) driver in the event that it is necessary," said the Italian.

"But mainly we want (him) to be focused on the development work," added Domenicali.