Meet the driver who has held a Formula 1 lap record since 2005 but only finished on the podium once

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Records rarely last long in Formula 1 with every team and driver striving to get faster and faster with each passing lap at every circuit they visit.

Already this season, Ferrari driver Charles Leclerc and former RB star Daniel Ricciardo have broken lap records in Australia and Singapore respectively.

Ricciardo’s fastest lap in Singapore was particularly special as it ended up being the last time stepped foot in an RB before being replaced by Liam Lawson and may be the final act he completes in a Formula 1 car.

However, with rules and regulations constantly changing, there are plenty of records that have stood the test of time.

Many of these are held by some of the sport’s most successful names.

Michael Schumacher, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen all currently hold records set during Grand Prix at the current tracks F1 travels to.

There’s one name that stands out when observing that list of record holders that doesn’t appear to fit in: Pedro De La Rosa.

Pedro De La Rosa’s Formula 1 career and unlikely lap record

De La Rosa’s love of racing started similarly to Oscar Piastri’s in that they both won championships racing remote-controlled cars.

The Barcelona native started life in Formula Ford before becoming Japanese Formula Three champion in 1995 and spending the next two years racing in various series in Japan.

De La Rosa became Jordan’s test driver in 1998 before being signed by Arrows in 1999.

He scored a single point that year alongside Toranosuke Takagi and was retained ahead of his teammate for the following year, with Jos Verstappen brought in for that campaign.

After being replaced by Enrique Bernoldi in 2001, De La Rosa joined Prost as a test driver but ended up spending much of the season with Jaguar.

At this point in his career, De La Rosa had six points to show for 63 Grand Prix after a pointless 2002 campaign and spent the next three years as McLaren test driver.

However, that brought about the moment when a one-off appearance in 2005 meant the 53-year-old Spaniard suddenly entered the record books.

Pedro De La Rosa’s infamous 2005 Bahrain Grand Prix

In 2005, McLaren had Kimi Raikkonen and Juan Pablo Montoya as their drivers.

However, Montoya missed two races after breaking his shoulder with De La Rosa called up in his place to race in Bahrain.

It was a new circuit on the calendar that year and De La Rosa for the first time in his career was in a competitive Formula 1 car.

The Spaniard qualified eighth – ahead of teammate Raikkonen – and managed to come home in fifth, but importantly, set the fastest lap of the race with a 1:31.447.

READ MORE: What ‘really impressed’ Pedro de la Rosa about Adrian Newey at McLaren after Aston Martin switch

That performance was enough to earn De La Rosa a longer run in the team the following year when Montoya quit F1 altogether to race in NASCAR.

De La Rosa’s only podium came at the Hungaoring that year, finishing second behind Jenson Button and ahead of Nick Heidfeld.

Pedro De La Rosa’s stunning 2005 Bahrain Grand Prix lap record still stands today

De La Rosa spoke to the News of Bahrain ahead of the 2024 race in Bahrain about his lap record and said: “Records are there to be broken.

“I’ve been very, very fortunate to still hold the lap record but I know that it will eventually be topped and it will possibly be this year.

“I’m just surprised that it has managed to last for this long, but it will eventually be beaten and hopefully by one of our [Aston Martin] cars.

“What you need in Bahrain is great braking stability because there are many braking zones where you’re close to hitting 5g.

“You also need great traction. The first sector is all about traction and Turn 10 is as well.

“The rear end is key in Bahrain, and therefore you need to keep the rear tyres alive.

“The front tyres don’t suffer, as it’s mostly longitudinal braking and acceleration, so you need a lot of rear stability and rear traction.”

Life for Pedro De La Rosa after McLaren and his 2006 Hungarian Grand Prix podium

De La Rosa returned to his role as a reserve driver in 2007 and spent another two years with McLaren as he witnessed Lewis Hamilton’s dramatic championship win in Brazil as part of the team.

He was offered what he must have thought was one last lifeline to resurrect his F1 career in 2010.

Sauber gave De La Rosa the opportunity to partner Kamui Kobayashi, however, after 14 races he was replaced by Heidfeld.

He only scored six points during that run and a one-off race in 2011 was nearly the end of his F1 career.

READ MORE: Pedro De La Rosa raves about one F1 driver who’s so strong that he could ‘stop a train’

That was before the struggling HRT team leant on De La Rosa’s experience for one final campaign.

A 25th-place finish in the Drivers’ Championship capped off his F1 career in one of modern F1’s worst cars.

De La Rosa is now an ambassador for Aston Martin and will hope that the team’s work behind the scenes can make them championship contenders in 2026 and beyond.