De la Rosa speaks of his “wonderful opportunity”

Jaguar's new race driver Pedro de la Rosa says that joining the Coventry marque gives him the best chance to fulfil his potential in Formula 1

Speaking as the news of his replacement of Prost-bound Luciano Burti was confirmed at Silverstone today (Thursday), de la Rosa believes Jaguar Racing offers him a great opportunity to prove himself as a top line racer.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for me," he said. "I came to Jaguar Racing because the long-term potential in the team is obvious. I believe Bobby Rahal and the team are fully focused on the job in hand.

"Since joining the team I have had an excellent relationship with Luciano, and I'd like to extend my very best wishes to him for the future."

Jaguar Racing CEO Rahal has welcomed the Spaniard's graduation to the race team line up.

"It's great to have Pedro on board and I'm confident in his ability to do an excellent job for us," he said. "He's already demonstrated his capabilities in the car, albeit as a test driver. I'm sure he'll acquit himself well at Barcelona."