European GP - Preview
Media Release
Team Sauber-Motorsport
06/19/10
For the Grand Prix of Europe on the road course at the Port of Valencia, the Swiss team arrives on 27 June bringing with them some aerodynamic improvements. As in Barcelona, Spain Burger King will be represented prominently as a sponsor on the two C29. For Pedro de la Rosa, who looks forward to his second home race this year, the city of course Neuland, Kamui Kobayashi he knows well, having raced there in two previous GP2 races.
With regards to the upcoming 9th 19 World Championship Races, 25th-27th June 2010, Pedro de la Rosa remarked: "
“I’m certainly looking forward to my second home race this year, although it will be quite a busy weekend. It is a great achievement for Spain to have two Grands Prix and we do have a fantastic crowd. A little bit of a downer for the spectators is the fact that on both Spanish circuits overtaking is very difficult. Usually you don’t see much overtaking in Barcelona or Valencia. Turn two should be the best option for overtaking, but I have not driven the Valencia street circuit yet so there might also be others. In the two races I have finished this year I have been fighting for the points until the last few laps of each race. We will be bringing several new parts for the car so I expect a step forward here.”
Kamui Kobayashi: “From what I have seen so far the Valencia street circuit doesn’t seem to be the most exciting track, but I only know it from two GP2 races and racing there in Formula One will be different. I like driving over the bridge, which makes the track quite distinctive. It might not be as hot as last year when the race was two months later, but I still expect rather high temperatures, which is fine for me. It is another race in Spain, and in Barcelona we had one of our better weekends in terms of performance, so I hope we can achieve a positive result.”
Technical Director James Key:
“For Valencia we return to a higher downforce level, similar to what we had in Istanbul and a step up from what we had in Canada. The fact that Valencia is a street circuit with small run-off areas can make for an eventful race, so you have to stay away from the walls. The circuit is very stop-and-start, which means acceleration and braking performances are important with relatively slow speed corners in between each straight.
“We have a new aero upgrade for the European Grand Prix, which should make the car more efficient and a little bit easier to set up. This is the first of our mid season updates. We have to see how we go in Valencia. We are looking to bounce back after a difficult weekend in Canada.“
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The Secret Life of Pedro de la Rosa
He may have been a paddock fixture for 13 years, notched up 78 Grand Prix starts and 29 world championship points, but we bet there’s an awful lot you don’t know about BMW Sauber’s Pedro de la Rosa, including his fear of flying, his youthful Smurf collection, and a worrying addiction to an Italian dessert. Find out more about Spaniard De la Rosa in the latest instalment of our Secret Life series…
Q: Are you the kind of guy to have a ‘Plan-B’?
Pedro de la Rosa: No. I am not a lateral thinker. I am a straight-line thinker - if there is a rock in front of me I’ll try to go through it. I am like a bull in that respect. I am not that smart.
Q: Apart from driving a Formula One car, what is your favourite buzz?
PdlR: Being with the right people. I could be in a cave with no light, but if I am with my kids and my wife I am a happy man.
Q: Who is your dream date?
PdlR: There are so many people I would love to meet. One would have been Ayrton Senna, the other one would be Lance Armstrong. He is someone I admire massively because I cycle a lot and I know how tough cycling is. It is ten times tougher than racing a Formula One car from the physical side. I would like to get into his brain to see how he thinks and how much he can suffer.
Q: Which film last made you cry?
PdlR: I haven’t cried at a movie lately, as far as I can remember. I cried reading a book - The Bridges of Madison County - but that was some time ago, when I was younger and more sensitive. Now I am tough! (laughs).
Q: What are you afraid of?
PdlR: I am quite scared of planes because I sometimes dream that I die in a plane crash.
Q: What was the last book you read?
PdlR: I read Perfume, by Patrick Suskind. That was by far my favourite book lately.
Q: Name five things that you hate?
PdlR: Dishonest people, hypocrisy, lies, unpunctual people (like my wife!) and smelly people.
Q: Have you ever dyed your hair?
PdlR: Yes, I have done it in the past. It was a little bit darker than my original colour. It was a mess and I am sure I will never do it again because sometimes you learn from bad experiences.
Q: What was the first CD you bought?
PdlR: It wasn’t a CD, that came later. The first tape was Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA. It is still my favourite album. It was the first one, and the best.
Q: Do you have any tattoos or piercings?
PdlR: No, I’d hate one on myself. But I like to see them on other people.
Q: What did your teachers say about you in your school report?
PdlR: That he is very committed and he works very hard. He’s not that clever but he always gives his best.
Q: Who were your childhood heroes?
PdlR: Ayrton Senna, Alain Prost, and of course my father - he has always been my top hero.
Q: Do you have any guilty pleasures?
PdlR: I like tiramisu. I would eat a tiramisu every night if I could, so I have to control myself and not get too carried away.
Q: Do you collect anything?
PdlR: Not any more. When I was younger I collected Smurfs. That was a long time ago. It was my first and last collection. Now I am not interested in collecting anything. But wait a minute… I’m lying. I have a collection of all my helmets. From every year I’ve raced I have at least one helmet. It must be around 30 helmets.
Q: What do you miss most about home when you’re travelling?
PdlR: I miss my family. Still, after all those years of travelling, I feel very weak when I am not with them. And I miss the Spanish news. When I go to a hotel room, the first thing I do is look for a Spanish channel! I leave it on all the time and then I feel like I’m home.
Q: What was your worst buy?
PdlR: I haven’t had any bad buys yet. Actually I’m very proud of that. I think before buying.
Q: How do you take your coffee?
PdlR: I always have an espresso macchiato.
Q: Your ideal non-race Sunday morning?
PdlR: Waking up in Majorca and going cycling.
Q: What was your first car or vehicle?
PdlR: I had a Montesa 50cc, when I was five or six years-old. I started with that little motorbike before starting with a kart.
Q: What’s the most embarrassing mistake you’ve ever made?
PdlR: It was in 1996 in Aida, Japan. Toyota had brought out a new supercar, completely white. It had just come out of the oven and I was told to do an installation lap, but the car never came back. I destroyed the car on the back straight. There was some snow on the track and I destroyed the car. I came back to the pits and told them that there was no more car and the mechanics thought I was joking. I really did not have the balls to take my helmet off! I could not look them in the eyes.
Q: What is the best thing you can cook?
PdlR: I can only cook Spaghetti. It’s very good though.
Q: When was the last time you were really angry?
PdlR: Very recently. That was after the Spanish Grand Prix. When I got back to my hotel room I banged every wall in there.
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