McLaren yet to decide on de la Rosa

McLaren are yet to decide if Pedro de la Rosa keeps the second seat at the team in the remaining three races of the season

Jonathan Noble Sep 12, 2006, 2:59 PM

F1 CEO Martin Whitmarsh, however, said the Spaniard was likely to compete until the end of the year.

De la Rosa, who took the second seat alongside Kimi Raikkonen when Juan Pablo Montoya left the team, was only confirmed until the Italian Grand Prix but Whitmarsh said it made sense to keep him until the end of the season.

"In truth we have not had that discussion but that is our planning assumption at the moment," said Whitmarsh. "We will go and talk to him. There are back-to-back races, Pedro has won three titles in Japan and knows Suzuka very well and that is a circuit where it really helps to know.

"That is a logical decision, we will sit down, we have no particular pressure, Pedro is a balanced individual, we are planning to race him as an organisation we have not sat down and questioned that one. We will confirm it."

De la Rosa has scored 14 points in five races, scoring his maiden podium in the Hungarian Grand Prix.