Klien not giving up on F1

The Austrian will be replaced by Mark Webber from 2007, and Red Bull have offered him a seat in Champ Car or the DTM if he wants to take them.

But speaking to autosport.com in Turkey, Klien made it clear that he had not given up on finding further opportunities in F1.

"Red Bull is still supporting me," said Klien, who is understood to have been told by Red Bull that he needs to make a decision about their Champ Car offer by the Italian Grand Prix. "We are looking together for a way.

"They have offered me a seat in Champ Car or DTM, that is a possibility, but I also want to check all the options in Formula One. For sure it is a bit late now and difficult to get a seat, but the main focus is to get the last five races and to do really well and get some results together. In F1 anything is possible, things change very quickly and it could open a possibility. But the main focus is F1."

Despite rumours all season that Klien was under pressure to keep hold of his seat at Red Bull Racing, he has expressed some surprise at the final decision of the team not to retain him.

"Of course it was a little bit of a surprise," he said. "It (the announcement) was the Monday morning after the race in Hungary, for sure it was quite bad news. I wanted to continue driving for Red Bull next year but that wasn't the case.

"In the beginning of the season they said I had to be as quick as David, and I think the pace was as quick as him.

"But in the end I didn't have as many points as him, although most of it was bad luck - technical problems and so on. So, from this side I don't think it is fair to say I am not as quick as David (Coulthard)."

Autosport.com understands that if Klien decides not to take up the offer of a drive in Champ Car then the seat will be given to Scuderia Toro Rosso third driver Neel Jani.