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Pedro de la Rosa will return to Formula 1 racing this year after securing a seat with the BMW Sauber team, the Swiss squad confirmed on Tuesday.

The 38-year-old Spaniard has been McLaren's reserve and test driver for seven years, but will be back to racing in 2010 with the Hinwil-based squad.

De la Rosa will join Kamui Kobayashi at the team.

"Pedro has spent many years working for a top team at the highest technical level," said Peter Sauber. "We as a team stand to gain from his experience, and the same goes for young Kamui.

"The combination of a seasoned racer and an up-and-coming young driver has repeatedly proved a very fruitful one. I don't expect either of them to disappoint in 2010.

"Of course it is also crucial that we provide them with a decent car; I feel positive about our in-house progress on that front too. We were able to continue work on our 2010 car as scheduled throughout the recent period of uncertainty."

The Catalan driver last raced in Formula 1 at the 2006 Brazilian Grand Prix, when he stood in for Juan Pablo Montoya.

"I always firmly believed I would be given another chance as a team driver," he said. "Since the number of test drives were radically reduced, this was what I was working towards.

"I'm really excited about the season with Peter Sauber's team, which has been a solid fixture in Formula 1 ever since 1993."

