What Has Pedro Got?

Peter Sauber has signed the (very) experienced Pedro de la Rosa as team mate to young star Kamui Kobayashi but is this a wise move by Sauber or are we staring another Badoer situation in the face?

Since he (reluctantly) purchased the Sauber team from BMW to ensure that all the employees at Hinwil kept their jobs, Peter Sauber has been trying to find the most experienced man he could as his second driver. He flirted with the possibilities of Trulli, Fisichella and Heidfeld so how did he end up with someone who hasn't driven in anger since 2006?

I was surprised when Kobayashi got the drive at Sauber; I thought that with no Toyota he had very little chance of getting another attempt at F1. This would have been unfair as his debut drives were miraculous when you consider how the other rookies did in 2009. However, I get the feeling that Sauber wants to find a buyer for his team who can guarantee its financial security (something that he is struggling to do) so if he has a rookie with the potential to be something of a star then it keeps the media on his team. More media interest, more interest full stop. This includes buyers. Moreover, maybe Sauber is playing the long game; maybe he thinks that as the recession passes over (optimistically in the next few years) and we head back into the boom half of the cycle, then having someone Japanese leading your team could attract certain car manufacturers.

However, with a rookie comes a gamble - it is only after a few more races that we will get to know the level Kobayashi can operate at. As a backup experience is needed. This should ensure that points are scored next year and it should also help keep the pace of car development up. Also, the young protégée could learn from his team mate too.

I think that Peter Sauber wanted Trulli initially, and he is known to be a Heidfeld fan - both of these would have been very savvy signings but a spanner was put in the works when Mercedes 'stole' long-term sponsor Petronas from the team. The lack of funding caused by this meant that Sauber couldn't afford to pay his drivers top dollar and he really wanted a driver that could bring some money to the team. This was a problem for both Trulli and Heidfeld and so this seemingly left the door open for Fisichella (who would have brought a serious reduction -25%- to the £6mill wage bill for Ferrari engines this year). This is the case because Fisi is Ferrari's third driver and so they would pay to keep him 'race ready' in case there is another incident like the one with Massa last year.

So how did de la Rosa get the gig? The last time he drove in a Grand Prix was when he was filling in for Juan Pablo Montoya at the end of 2006. He had a reasonable but not spectacular time alongside Kimi Raikkonen at McLaren but this doesn't compare well to Fisichella who did very well at Force India and ok at Ferrari LAST YEAR.

I think that there are two reasons for the choice of de la Rosa. The first is that I believe that Pedro might just bring some sponsorship from (Spanish fuel company) Repsol. If Fisi was saving £1.5mill then Repsol must be footing at least that. Of course, this way Sauber don't owe Ferrari anything.

The second reason is, in my opinion, bigger. Pedro de la Rosa has been the test driver behind the great McLarens of the last decade. He knows how to improve a car and brings much more technical ability for his money than Fisi does.

Whilst I think that Fisi may have been quicker out of the box, I think that (given a few tests) Pedro is never going to be as bad as Badoer was last year. Moreover, if Pedro's development skills ensure that Sauber punch above their weight - and Kobayashi continues his good form then de la Rosa could prove to be a very smart signing indeed.

There will be another driver on the grid next year who hasn't raced since 2006 and nobody doubts him... let's not write off Pedro either.