De la Rosa's Repsol sponsorship was the main contributing factor in allowing De la Rosa to secure the drive, providing significant backing to the Jordan team for the 1998 season.
For the new season he would be partnered by the highly rated young Japanese driver, , who had impressed in his first two Formula One races at the end of 2009 with.
However at the conclusion of the , McLaren race driver announced he was quitting Formula One and the McLaren team with immediate effect.