De la Rosa elected GPDA chairman

The McLaren test driver will step into the role vacated by Ralf Schumacher, who left Formula One at the end of last year.

As revealed earlier, de la Rosa was the preferred candidate for GPDA directors Mark Webber and Fernando Alonso, and duly accepted the position after a unanimous vote in Friday's meeting at Albert Park.

When asked by autosport.com after the meeting about how pleased he was to be offered the role, de la Rosa said: "The guys supported me, so I am happy to get the role.

"At the end of the day, I have been a GPDA member since I began racing in F1. The guys wanted me as chairman and it is great. It is great they have that trust in myself."

De la Rosa made it clear, however, that he had no plans to change the current philosophy of the GPDA, and that he would be working in harmony with the FIA over safety matters.

"We will continue the work the GPDA has been doing in recent years, and work closely with the FIA on safety grounds," he said. "It is nothing new. We are not going to do anything radical."

However, de la Rosa did say that he would increase efforts to try and recruit younger drivers like Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen onto the body.

"That is one of the big aims, to recruit all the drivers, everyone. We all have to be part of it because we are working on safety, and safety is for everyone.

"We are talking with them (Hamilton and Raikkonen). I will increase my talks and efforts to get them on board."