Bernoldi 'feels bad' about de la Rosa

De la Rosa spent much of the winter testing for Arrows, but the team announced yesterday that Bernoldi was taking the Spaniard's place alongside Jos Verstappen at the Leafield-based squad.

"I found out about the drive last week," Bernoldi told Autosport.com. "I do feel bad for Pedro [de la Rosa]. It's not a very nice thing for him and it's a shame, but I guess that's the way it is. Formula 1 is a strange sport."

Arrows is believed to have ended talks with de la Rosa's main sponsor Repsol, and instead opted for Bernoldi, when the Spanish oil company proposed a system of payments based on results. Size and positioning of decals is also thought to have been an issue.

Bernoldi brings financial support from Austrian energy drink maker Red Bull, which is also the title sponsor for the Sauber team. Bernoldi was test driver for the Swiss outfit last year and looked to be in line for a race seat alongside Nick Heidfeld until the drive was taken by Finnish hotshoe Kimi Raikkonen.

"I was very disappointed when I didn't get a drive with Sauber," said Bernoldi, "because there were lots of newspaper reports about how fast we both went that were not true. When Raikkonen tested, the conditions were completely different from when I drove the car.

"Also the difference between us was only three hundredths of a second and everybody made a big deal out of it - I felt quite disappointed. But anyway I think that now I might be better off being at Arrows rather than Sauber."

The 22-year-old has already tested the interim Arrows A21 at Barcelona three times. The team will use AMT engines in 2001, which are based on last year's Peugeot V10s used by Prost GP.

"The car is good and the engine is improving all the time," said Bernoldi. "I feel very happy and I think I have a good opportunity this year to learn and get as much experience as a Formula 1 driver as possible. This is a learning year for me and I hope to score some points when I can."

Arrows will shake down its new A22 at Silverstone tomorrow, with Verstappen driving. The team will then head to Estoril next week, where Bernoldi will drive the new car for the first time.