Born: 24/2/71 Nationality: Spanish Team: McLaren First GP: Australia 1999 Best result: 2nd 2006 position: 11th Previous teams: Arrows, Jaguar

Pedro de la Rosa had another chance to display his credentials for a full-time race seat following Juan Pablo Montoya's defection to McLaren.

The immensely likeable Spaniard, the team's reserve driver, has done the same solid job as when he replaced the injured Colombian in Bahrain in 2005.

He has on occasion embarrassed regular racer Kimi Raikkonen, and has been nothing if not dependable elsewhere.

Experienced and intelligent, De la Rosa is as effective a stand-in as there is.