Christian Klien

Christian Klien is the latest in a line of rookies to start their careers with the Jaguar team, following on from Luciano Burti and Antonio Pizzonia (and if you look back to the Stewart Grand Prix days, Jan Magnussen).

All three of his predecessors found themselves dropped prematurely after failing to satisfy the team with their form. Have successive managements been unable to properly support new drivers, or has the team simply struggled to run two equally competitive cars? Those are two of the theories that have been bandied about over the past few years.

Klien thus finds himself in a difficult position, not least because team-mate Mark Webber has been on inspired form as he tries to convince Williams that he is the man to take over from Juan Pablo Montoya.

On the other hand, he benefits from something that Pizzonia certainly didn't, as he was hired by the current management, rather than inherited. Tony Purnell and his colleagues have to justify taking a driver who brings a wedge of Red Bull cash with him, so it's in their interest to talk him up, and make him look good. However, the guy still has to do the job on the track.

In Australia, the newcomer seemed out of his depth, some two seconds off Webber every time they took to the track. On the positive side, he didn't hit anything solid, and brought the car safely home in the race. In Malaysia he was a little nearer the pace, and then in Bahrain he made a big step, despite having had no testing in between. Although practice times are always hard to read, fifth on Friday afternoon was not bad, and then he just edged Webber in qualifying.

Early in the race he found himself behind Kimi Raikkonen, and apparently unfazed, dived inside the McLaren. The move didn't work, and he slid wide, but it was captured by on an on-board camera. For the first time we saw a sign that this guy could be worth watching. Later he made another mistake, but he made it to the flag, albeit in a lowly 14th. Once again, Webber did a better job in the race.

"My start was OK, it was quite reasonable," he says. "But I was on the right line, so there was a bit of traffic in the first corner. After that the car was really quick, and I had a good fight with Kimi. It was really good fun. In the first stint the car was really good, and I was also behind a Sauber and Toyota, and we were faster than them.

"Then I made a mistake in Turn 10. I ran a bit over the kerbs, and when I went on the brakes I locked the rear. After that I was really far away from the other drivers, and it was just making some safe laps, clean pit stops, and finishing the race."

It was his third finish in three starts, and the mileage is clearly helping his form.

"Absolutely. It was a really good weekend for me. I improved a lot. I think it was a good step, and we can build on this now. In Bahrain the track was new for everyone, so I had no disadvantage with that. In Friday practice and qualifying I was ahead of Mark, so I was very pleased about that. He has a little bit more experience, and he did a really good race. We're happy for him that he gained the first points for Jaguar this year.

"But I feel quite comfortable in the car now. First race, second race, everything is new in this new world."

One thing Klien is not short of is confidence. He's very relaxed and self-assured, in complete contrast to Pizzonia, who soon found himself on a downward spiral. As early as the second race there was talk of him being replaced, and one senior team figure even had the retired Eddie Irvine on standby for a while, until his return was vetoed.

The management support makes a difference, and Klien is going to enjoy a lengthy honeymoon period. However, eventually he's going to have to match Webber's form on Sundays. It will be interesting to see how he fares.

"It's very important to get the confidence, and then you can build up on that. The next race is the first race in Europe. I'm quite confident for this race, because Imola is the first track that I know. It's also one of my favourite tracks. I've only been there in Formula Renault, so I know the track, but the brake points and everything are different in F1."