BMW Sauber sign De la Rosa

(GETTY IMAGES)

Fernando Alonso will have a compatriot for company in Formula One this season, after the BMW Sauber F1 Team confirmed they have signed Pedro de la Rosa, 38, to partner the Japanese driver, Kamui Kobayashi.

The Spaniard – who has raced for Arrows, Jaguar and McLaren — claimed his best result when he took his McLaren to the runner-up spot in the 2006 Hungarian GP. Passed over by McLaren in favour of Lewis Hamilton in 2007, he was the team's test and development driver from 2003 until 2009. That role will now be filled solely by Briton Gary Paffett, who previously shared duties with De la Rosa.

Peter Sauber, the team principal, said: "We stand to gain much from Pedro's experience."