McLaren Mercedes has confirmed that Pedro de la Rosa and Gary Paffett will remain with the team in testing roles for 2007 after the announcement that
Lewis Hamilton will partner
Fernando Alonso in a race seat for the new Formula One season.
Spaniard de la Rosa competed in the last eight races of the 2006 season alongside
Kimi Raikkonen when
Juan Pablo Montoya announced his plans to leave
F1 for NASCAR, with a best finish of second in the Hungarian GP en route to eleventh place in the championship standings.
Having hoped to partner Alonso in an all-Spanish line-up for 2007, de la Rosa admitted to being slightly disappointed not to secure a race seat for the new season but wished Hamilton all the best for his maiden campaign.
"I have really enjoyed the opportunity to race for Team McLaren Mercedes for the last eight races of the 2006 season," commented Pedro. "However, I have always been aware that the team might decide to give another driver the same opportunity, so the fact that Lewis will be in the car comes as no surprise.
"Obviously, I would have preferred to race myself, but I also understand why the team has decided to put Lewis in the car. I wish him all the best and look forward to continue working with him."
Like de la Rosa, Paffett was hopeful of securing a race seat in F1 for the new season, having been linked to both the McLaren seat and the vacant position alongside Christijan Albers at Spyker.
However, the former DTM champion said he was delighted to remain with the McLaren squad for another season, with the continuation of his testing role being the best option available to him.
"I am delighted to be remaining with the team, it is a fantastic racing organisation and I am looking forward to working with my fellow team-mates on our 2007 championship challenge," he said. "As with any driver, there is always a desire to be racing in
Formula One, however this was not possible. We had a number of other opportunities available and have decided that this was the strongest option.
"I would like to congratulate Lewis on today's announcement."
