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Christian Klien

Tuesday 14th February 2006

Despite taking the step down from race driver to tester in 2007, Christian Klien is hoping that in the end the move will pave the way to securing him a race-seat for the Honda team.

Klien made a rapid rise from karting in Switzerland to success in various European Formula series with 2003 proving to be his breakthrough season.

Four victories and nine podiums from 21 races in the Formula 3 Euro Series rewarded him second place overall and acclaim as the best rookie driver.

Meanwhile victory in the prestigious Marlboro Masters in Zandvoort earned him a chance to test for F1's Jaguar Racing outfit.

Impressive times led to the Austrian landing the role of Mark Webber's team-mate for the 2004 F1 world championship.

His first year in F1, though, wasn't as successful as he had hoped.

Not only did he struggle to cope with single-lap qualifying, he failed to match his team-mate's pace during Sunday's grands prix.

However Red Bull Racing, who had bought the Jaguar team during the off-season, opted to give him another shot and teamed him up with experienced racer David Coulthard.

And although Christian was expected to share the seat with test driver Vitantonio Liuzzi, his improved performances meant he raced in all but four events, impressing with five points-scoring results including a P5 in China.

Christian's 2006 F1 season didn't go according to plan for himself or the team. An underperforming Red Bull meant the Austrian battled most of the season near the middle or even back of the field, and he netted just two points.

His disappointing results led to Red Bull signing Mark Webber in his place for the 2007 season and after turning down an offer to race for the ChampCar team, Red Bull prematurely ended Klien's contract.

Bravely determined to remain in F1, though, the Austrian has signed as Honda's test driver for the 2007 season and is hoping it will lead to a race-drive for one of F1's top teams.

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