Pedro de la Rosa appointed GPDA chairman for 2012 F1 season

Pedro de la Rosa will take over from Rubens Barrichello as the chairman of the Grand Prix Drivers' Association for 2012,

Barrichello lost his seat at Williams for this season, meaning the GPDA needed to find a new chief, but drivers had already agreed last year that de la Rosa would step into the vacant position under such circumstances.

"The agreement we had at the end of last season was that if Rubens would not be in Formula 1, then I would take over," HRT driver de la Rosa told

"That was the vote from the drivers, so I will take over.
"But it's only because Rubens is not here. Otherwise he was doing a super job and everyone was happy for him to continue. It's a position I have inherited, and I'm happy to continue my work from two years ago."


De la Rosa is no stranger to the GPDA, having been chairman from 2008 until he returned to F1 last time with Sauber in 2010.

"I always like to be part of the GPDA in some form," he said. "I think the GPDA is a much more important organisation than some people might think. The fact that we are nearly all together, it makes us very strong. The atmosphere in the meetings is good - there are no problems between the drivers.
"We're all in the same boat, we're pushing together, and I'm very happy to be back."

Sebastian Vettel and Felipe Massa are expected to remain on as directors of the GPDA, with a vote likely to take place at the season-opening Australian Grand Prix.