De La Rosa to test for Pirelli

Pirelli have today confirmed that it has signed Pedro De La Rosa to continue its testing programme for its 2011 tyre. The Spaniard effectively switches jobs with Nick Heidfeld, who earlier chose to leave Pirelli for a race seat at Sauber Motorsport.

Francesco Gori, CEO of Pirelli Tyre said: "So far our work has been carried out by Nick Heidfeld, but as he is going back to racing, he will be replaced by Pedro de la Rosa and Romain Grosjean.

"They will test until the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, when afterwards all of the teams will test for the first time with Pirelli tyres."

Pirelli have been confirmed as sole tyre supplier for Formula one from 2011 to 2013. They company is now testing to determine the exact compounds to use after having decided on the basic structure of the tyre.

Gori commented: "The design and shape is very critical, and we have to provide the teams with this because they have very few months to get this fixed for next year.

"This is something we have achieved, and job number two is the structure of the tyre. This is to make sure that is can support to stress and speed of a Formula 1 car, and we are in the final stage of development there.

"The next challenge is the compounds. Different solutions are currently being tested, on tracks from Monza - the fastest - to Jerez - the most abrasive."