Mar.11 (GMM) Pedro de la Rosa has revealed that there have been no recriminations within McLaren despite his role in the imposition of the espionage penalties last year.
Email traffic between the British team's veteran test driver and his Spanish compatriot Fernando Alonso last year brought the spying affair back onto the FIA's radar, resulting in the $100m fine and championship exclusion.But 37-year-old de la Rosa told the Spanish newspaper El Mundo that McLaren has put the whole affair into the past."The atmosphere is still good. There is no side-effect," he said."My role remains the same as last season," says de la Rosa, who is set to arrive in Melbourne as McLaren's reserve driver."I have to thank the team for the support they gave me after the espionage story. They have always supported me and we have stayed together."That (support) is something that some people might not have noticed, but I did," de la Rosa added.He also jokingly revealed that the entire spy affair taught him a valuable lesson."Now I hardly ever send emails," de la Rosa smiled. "I prefer much more to discuss things face to face!"You always have to learn from things in life -- even the bad ones," he added.