Emilia Romagna GP || May 19 || 15h00 (Local time)
6 May 2024
De la Rosa to stay in F1 until ’too old’
"Considering my age, I cannot put a foot outside of F1"
Pedro de la Rosa on Friday admitted he fears that if he steps out of the formula one paddock now, he might never step back in.
The Spanish veteran, officially the McLaren reserve and called up by Sauber to replace Sergio Perez two weeks ago, is therefore first in line should up to four F1 regulars fall ill this year.
But the AS sports newspaper asked the 40-year-old if he is not tempted to return to regular racing, for example at Le Mans or in the German DTM series.
"There are different approaches but my life is formula one; once you’ve driven these cars nothing else comes close.
"Considering my age, I cannot put a foot outside of F1 because I’d be gone forever. For other things I will always have time, there’s no hurry, I will wait until I am too old for F1," he said.
De la Rosa was surprised in Montreal when, after it emerged he would be racing in Mexican rookie Perez’ place, his wife and one of his daughters rushed to Canada to see him drive.
"To my daughters it’s difficult to explain my work; they don’t understand why their dad is not home and why he’s not driving a Red Bull and winning all the races," he laughed.
