With BMW no longer backing the team and major sponsor Petronas already signed by another team, it wasn't rocket science to figure out that Sauber will sign his drivers depending on sponsorship support. As expected, De la Rosa's signing was connected with the backing of a major sponsor, willing to support their driver without Sauber having to pay him out of his own pocket.
Obviously, we're talking about Grupo Santander, the Spanish giant bank that has made a habit out of sponsoring Spanish racers (or the teams for whom they compete) in recent years. Following their financial backing of McLaren and Ferrari (Fernando Alonso plays a big role in that one), Santander confirmed that they will sponsor De la Rosa as well.
“Pedro is a friend and a very intelligent person who impressed us very much in our three years together (at McLaren). We are going to support him personally,” said Santander communications boss Juan Manuel Cendoya, while insisting that “we are not going to be at Sauber with any of our brands.”
However, it is believed De la Rosa will not be backed by the Santander company per se, but by its subsidiary Universia, the network of Spanish and Portuguese speaking universities.
Until no other details of his contract will surface in the media, we can only assume Pedro de la Rosa will have his salary paid by his countrymen.
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