Ten facts about Pedro de la Rosa

After seven years as McLaren's test driver, Pedro de la Rosa is making his return to Formula 1 racing with the BMW Sauber team

Here's ten facts about the Spaniard:

• Pedro de la Rosa is one of 57 drivers who scored on his grand prix debut, in 1999 in Australia, having tested an F1 car for the first time the previous year when he drove a Jordan. He finished his first race in sixth position, scoring a point for the Arrows team.

• Before joining Formula 1, the Spanish driver spent a few years racing in Japan, where he won the Formula Nippon and GT championships.

• During his ten-year stint in F1, he has raced for Arrows, Jaguar and McLaren, his best championship position an 11th place in 2006, when he scored 19 points.

• De la Rosa has competed in 71 grands prix, his best result a second place at the 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix, the scene of Jenson Button's first victory. His last full season was with the Jaguar team in 2002.

• At 38, de la Rosa will be the second oldest driver on the Formula 1 grid in 2010, only behind Michael Schumacher, 41.

• He is the fifth most experienced test driver in F1 history, with only Luca Badoer, Alex Wurz, Jarno Trulli and David Coulthard having spent more days testing. He has McLaren's test and reserve driver for seven years, and has taken part in 353 days of testing since the start of his career.

• With 29 points scored, including one podium and one fastest lap, he is the second most successful Spaniard to have raced in Formula 1, only behind Fernando Alonso.

• With de la Rosa joining Alonso and, most likely, Jamie Alguersuari on the grid in 2010, it would be the first time ever that Spain has three grand prix drivers on track.

• The Catalan is the chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association

• His nickname is 'the Barcelona Bullet', although he was also nicknamed 'Nihon Ichi' - the number one - when he raced in Japan.