Winning is the next step, says De la Rosa
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-08-07 16:41
BUDAPEST, Aug 6 - McLaren's Spanish stand-in Pedro de la Rosa raised his
sights on Sunday after celebrating his first Formula One podium finish.
"In Magny-Cours (the French Grand Prix) I finished seventh, now I finish
second," said the 35-year-old at the Hungarian Grand Prix. "Now I have to
improve again and winning is the next step.
"We are more competitive now, why not? McLaren Mercedes is not a team that
stops its development halfway through the year, they push to the very last
race," he told a post-race news conference.
Spanish fans, used to seeing Renault's world champion Fernando Alonso winning
regularly this season, had another compatriot to applaud even if De la Rosa's
future remains unclear.
McLaren have yet to confirm De la Rosa beyond Hungary, although that now
looks certain and he could well be in the car for the rest of the season.
"I was very happy to be told that I would drive in Hungary and a podium
obviously is a great result," he said. "Now the team has to say what it wants
for the future.
"I want them to say rather than I say anything so I had better shut up."
Before Sunday, De la Rosa's best finish was fifth place -- with Arrows in
2001 and McLaren in a one-off appearance in Bahrain last year.
His big break came when Colombian Juan Pablo Montoya announced he was leaving
for the U.S. NASCAR series and McLaren immediately replaced him with the test
driver whose style was closer to team mate Kimi Raikkonen's.
The Spaniard spun on the formation lap but swiftly put that behind him at the
start and battled with Ferrari's Michael Schumacher in the closing stages.
"I just got my head down and kept pushing and the car was pretty good on all
kinds of tyres," he said.
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