De la Rosa is totally sure that Sauber will not make as big an impression on the sport this year as Brawn GP did in 2009. Even if the Hinwil team are very much regarded as the underdogs following a miserable movement last season, the Spaniard aims for reliability rather than stunning race performances.
Satisfied to be back in F1 full-time for the first year since 2002, de la Rosa last competed in a GP as stand-in for Juan-Pablo Montoya at McLaren in 2006. But, the Barcelona man does not believe that smaller teams are being obtainable with as many opportunities to surprise as last year.
I believe one thing we have to make obvious is that we are under technical regulations which have been browbeaten to the maximum already, so there's no new double diffusers or anything like that, Pedro explained to GPUpdate.net at the Circuit de Catalunya. Everybody has one and knows what to wait for from the aerodynamics, so I don't think there will be miracles.The teams that work more and which have more resources will dominate, that's how it will be - but we have very good people, that's clear to me.
Declarind his self-assurance in a car which has performed well in all conditions over the off-season, de la Rosa stresses that Sauber will not run before walking. "Before you dream you have to work, I always say," continued the second-oldest driver in the field. "I want to score points. I'm not going to go crazy, I want to be a solid points scorer and that's what my aim is."My dream? I know what it is but I'll keep it to myself, otherwise you'll maybe call me a dreamer at the end of the year and I don't want that!"
Among ex Honda team Brawn, now Mercedes GP, having chosen up both titles last year, de la Rosa understands why. I think that it's a completely different season, he explained. We won't be Brawn GP - that team exploited the regulations better than anyone in a new area; now everyone knows the regulations very well, so I don't think that we will see a Brawn GP again. It's clear, very clear.
