Pedro de la Rosa has told members of the Spanish press that he will leave formula one at the end of 2009 if he does not return to a race cockpit.
The Spaniard, who at 38 is the oldest F1 driver, said the new test restrictions make a full-time test role untenable.
It is understood his contract with McLaren runs out this year, and he admitted that there is only a "small" chance of a race seat in 2010 with Force India, despite the two teams' close collaboration.
"If I cannot race and I cannot even test, I will go to another category. Life does not end at formula one," he told Spanish journalists at the team's Woking headquarters.
De la Rosa revealed that his schedule affords him only "a few days" of testing for the entire year.
