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F1: Gearbox Spoils The Fun As De La Rosa Gets Ferrari Chance
Pedro de la Rosa will work with Ferrari in the simulator...
Jim Rising  |  Posted February 08, 2013   Jerez, ES
Pedro de la Rosa of Spain and Ferrari examines his car following a failure during Formula One winter testing at Circuito de Jerez on February 8, 2013 in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain. (Photo: Getty Images)
Pedro de la Rosa joined the list of those who have driven for both McLaren and Ferrari today when he had his first – and possibly only – track experience in the F138.

He stopped almost immediately this morning with a gearbox problem, but after a long delay was able to get in 51 laps by the end of the day.

The main objective of the test was to give the Spanish veteran a chance to help correlate the Ferrari simulator.

“All in all it's been a positive day for me,” he said. “I finally got a feel for the car and that will be very important when it comes to comparing the data with the simulator as we develop the car.

“We are not yet where we want to be on our simulation and there will be a lot of work to do, but that's why I've been taken on and in my own small way I hope to do my best to contribute to the progress of the Scuderia. I had a lot of mixed feelings today: I was very excited to drive the car but when I got out after the first two laps I was not exactly happy.

“All my life I've been waiting for an opportunity like this and to see it end after just a few corners was definitely not nice, especially because I wasn't sure that we would be able to continue with the program. But then the team did an amazing job and it was vital to get back on track given how few days are available to us.”

Adam Cooper notched up his 28th season as a racing journalist in 2012. He has written about F1 for SPEED.com since 2005. Follow him on Twitter.
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