Pedro de la Rosa has expressed an almost love-at-first-sight feeling with Aston Martin that convinced him to push aside the "negatives" and return to F1.
De la Rosa made over 104 starts in Formula 1, driving for Arrows, Jaguar, McLaren, Sauber and HRT before becoming a test driver with Jordan, McLaren and Ferrari, a role for which he arguably gained more renown.
The 53-year-old Spaniard stepped away from F1 and frontline motorsport at the end of 2014 but following a visit to Aston Martin's old Silverstone base in July 2022, and being shown its plans for the future, he could not refuse the offer to become its ambassador.
"Unreal what they've gone through," said De la Rosa, in an interview with RacingNews365.
"The first thing I must say is that I'm here because I saw the potential of this team. I wouldn't have come back to Formula 1, with all the negatives that Formula One has, which means the travelling and not being at home, if I didn't truly believe this team would win - 100 per cent.
"And when I went to Silverstone in the summer of '22 and I met [team principal] Mike Krack, and I met other people and they showed me what they were working on for the future, I realised 'I want to be here'. It was like a click."
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De la Rosa busts Alonso myth
In his own words, De la Rosa says he"unloads the agenda" for drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll related to their PR activities, as well as engaging with the team for all commercial and marketing events.
A common misconception is that De la Rosa joined off the back of Alonso confirming he would drive for Aston Martin in 2023 just as the 2022 summer break started.
Although seemingly 'a package', De la Rosa maintains that is far from the case. "When Fernando signed, I didn't know anything about it," he insisted. "Everything aligned itself.
"It's not because Fernando signed that I wanted to be with the team. I saw the project before, and then I realised I wanted to be here.
"I was also lucky in the sense that Fernando joined the team, and he is a great asset to have for any team, so that made it even easier for me.
"But it is definitely the potential of this team that convinced me."
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