Christian Klien

Austrian F1 driver who outqualified Webber and shared a Red Bull seat with Liuzzi.

Christian Klien (born 7 February 1983) is an Austrian racing driver who competed in Formula One. Born and raised in Hohenems, Klien competed in Formula One for Jaguar, Red Bull and HRT, scoring 14 championship points across 51 Grands Prix.

Quick Facts

Born: 7 February 1983
Birthplace: Hohenems, Austria

Lore & Background

Klien started his motorsport career in his early teens, racing in karting championships in Austria and Switzerland before moving to Formula BMW. After winning several titles in lower Formulas, he moved into Formula One, driving for Jaguar Racing alongside Mark Webber. At the end of 2004, Jaguar sold its team to Red Bull, which renamed it Red Bull Racing. In an unusual arrangement, Klien shared a race seat with Vitantonio Liuzzi. He stayed at Red Bull for 2006, while Liuzzi moved to Scuderia Toro Rosso. After an unsuccessful 2006, Mark Webber replaced him for 2007. Klien secured the test driver's seat at Honda, and on 2 February 2008 signed as BMW Sauber's reserve and test driver for the 2008 season.

Reader's Guide

Klien's Formula One career began with Jaguar in 2004, where he was the first driver to ever outqualify Mark Webber from the same team. He scored his only points that season with a sixth place in Belgium. In 2005, he shared the Red Bull race seat with Liuzzi, starting with points finishes in the first two races before Liuzzi replaced him for four rounds. Klien returned for the Canadian Grand Prix and kept his seat, finishing the year with points in Turkey and China. In 2006, he scored points in Bahrain and Germany but was less consistent than teammate David Coulthard. After being replaced by Webber, Klien became test driver for Honda in 2007 and BMW Sauber in 2008. He also raced in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with Peugeot. In 2010, he drove for HRT, replacing Sakon Yamamoto for several races.