De la Rosa takes up Techeetah Formula E advisor role

Ex-Formula 1 driver Pedro de la Rosa has been named as the Techeetah Formula E team's new sporting and technical advisor ahead of this weekend's Rome E-Prix.

De la Rosa raced sporadically in F1 between 1999 and 2012, making 107 starts, but made a first step towards a role in Formula E with Team Aguri - now Techeetah - in 2015 ahead of the series' second season.

The former McLaren, Jaguar, Arrows, Sauber and HRT F1 driver failed to land a full-time seat, yet is now claiming a role with Techeetah after being named its new sporting and technical advisor.

"I'm absolutely delighted to have been appointed as Techeetah Formula-E’s Sporting and Technical Advisor," de la Rosa said.

"The team has had a great start of the season and are currently leading both the teams’ and drivers’ championships. Nonetheless, there are a number of areas to improve and as a team, we never underestimate the opposition or the challenges that lie ahead.

“I’m looking forward to applying my experience and technical expertise at Techeetah and to help give the team a competitive edge in the championship.

"I’ll be working with the team and drivers starting from the Rome E-Prix and together we will build upon what the team has already achieved to secure further success."

"We are very pleased to welcome Pedro on board. He brings a wealth of applicable experience and his appointment represents another step forward to strategically capitalise on our championship position," Techeetah managing director Ivan Yim said.

"As we continue to build our team and our positive progress, we are leaving no stones unturned to ensure that the team gets the best possible chance of succeeding, and Pedro will play a key part in this.

"We’ve made some big strides lately and we are in a very exciting position, not just on track, but also off the track. We will have some further commercial news to share in due course."

Techeetah currently leads the Formula E teams' championship, with Jean-Eric Vergne also heading up the drivers' standings for the Chinese team with half of the season remaining.