Aug.21 (GMM) Pedro de la Rosa could shortly become the first driver to be confirmed as part of Prodrive's inaugural race lineup for 2008.

The Spanish newspaper Marca suggests that the 36-year-old, who is currently a test driver for McLaren, is waiting this week to hear if a seat with the British team has been reserved for him.

His link to Prodrive is obvious, with David Richards' new outfit expected to become a full McLaren customer team next year with a Woking-built chassis and Mercedes-Benz V8 engine.

Marca said the first official Prodrive announcements could be made at the edge of the Turkish grand prix this weekend.

Also touted as frontrunners for Prodrive seats are de la Rosa's fellow McLaren test driver Gary Paffett, and Paffett's French-Canadian DTM colleague Bruno Spengler.

Pedro de la Rosa budapest 2006