Pedro De La Rosa Joins Sauber, Heidfeld To Leave F1?

Sauber has announced the signing of McLaren test driver Pedro de la Rosa as their lead driver for the 2010 Formula One season.

The Spaniard will partner former Toyota driver Kamui Kobayashi at the Swiss-based team, independent once again after German automotive giant BMW pulled out of the sport at the end of 2009.

de la Rosa hasn't raced since 2006 when he replaced Juan Pablo Montoya at McLaren, and doesn't have the greatest points-to-races ratio.

The move is good for both Sauber and de la Rosa. Sauber get an experienced racing driver, and one with considerable development mileage throughout his time at McLaren, while de la Rosa gets the race seat he's coveted for some time now.

de la Rosa's move says big things about the future of incoming team Campos Meta and Nick Heidfeld's future in F1.

Campos had hoped to secure the Spaniard to race alongside Bruno Senna in their debut year, not a bad move for a new F1 team, and a Spanish one at that.

Former BMW-Sauber driver Heidfeld's options in F1 for 2010 are further limited after Michael Schumacher's return meant a possible move to Mercedes was ended, and world champion Jenson Button's move to McLaren ended aspirations for the German to return there.

The only respectable drives then available to Heidfeld were to sign for Sauber, or alongside Robert Kubica at Renault. The latter is now the only option for a competitive drive.

The remaining unconfirmed race seats include the drive at Campos, two spaces at USF1, and a seat at Toro Rosso, which is believed to be secured by Jaime Alguersauri.

If he fails to secure the Renault seat, Heidfeld could face the prospect of no F1 drive in 2010 with uncertainties over the entries of USF1 and Campos.

There is also the possibility of Ferrari test driver Giancarlo Fisichella being loaned out to a team if a seat is available, another rival to Heidfeld securing a 2010 drive, along with a number of potential rookies.

Heidfeld's record isn't bad from his 10 years in F1. Despite not winning a race, he has 219 points from his 167 race starts including 12 podium finishes, the majority of those coming during his time with BMW-Sauber.

A record far superior to de la Rosa's own record.

Surely an F1 team would love to have a driver who holds the record for most consecutive race classifications? But that appears not to be the case so far.

There has not, so far, been much talk of Heidfeld joining Renault, although very little has been said about who will partner Kubica following their recent troubles off the track, and partial buyout.

From being touted for a drive with the current world champions to being an unwanted man in such a short period of time has to be difficult to take, although he remains confident of a drive.

Heidfeld said on his website earlier this month, "Now we have to look forward and focus on the best long-term option for my future in Formula 1. I will continue to train hard, conduct talks with the appropriate people and to challenge my chance with all my might," he said.

"I hope in the coming weeks to be able to announce something concrete about my future plans."

Talking to your manager doesn't mean too much. There is no indication from any team that they are interested.

What now for Heidfeld? Will Renault save the day, or will he be destined for the F1 scrapheap, and weekends driving a DTM car like countryman Ralf Schumacher?