Albers to test for Minardi this week

The 22-year-old Dutchman, who will also drive for Mercedes in the DTM, will test for the Anglo-Italian F1 minnows on Wednesday as it prepares for the Spanish Grand Prix in less than a fortnight's time.

"Now that the Formula 1 teams are back in Europe, our testing work can begin in earnest," said Minardi boss Paul Stoddart. "We have a considerable amount of work to get through so we have asked Christijan to help us out on Wednesday. We have known him for several years and rate him highly as a young racing driver."

Albers is part of the Persson Mercedes squad that competes in the DTM series. The German tin top championship kicks off this weekend at Hockenheim, but for the moment Albers is focussing on the more immediate F1 test.

"It was my birthday yesterday (Monday), and this is the best present I could have," he said. "I'm very excited at the prospect of helping European Minardi at this test. It will be a huge challenge to get to grips with the performance of a Formula 1 car, but it's a challenge I can't wait to take on."

The Dutchman signed a tentative contract with Minardi in February that, while not guaranteeing him a concrete testing role, did imply that test days with the team would follow.