Klien targets first podium finish

With Adrian Newey joining the team last week at Jerez testing, Klien said the experience of the guru designer was felt immediately.

"I watched him during testing last week, and you could see that he knows already what we could do better, what we can improve on the car. The car was designed by Mark Smith, who is a really good guy as well. So I am confident that we can get it quick for the first races.

"I hope we can be regularly in the top eight," Klien added, "and I hope I can get my first podium - that's for sure the target. And then, we should make another step forward in 2007, with an Adrian Newey-designed car."

Klien made his racing debut with Jaguar Racing in 2004, and in 2005 he shared his Red Bull drive with Vitantonio Liuzzi, which the Austrian said was challenging.

"Last year was a difficult year," Klien said on the centre stage of the Autosport International Show. "Sharing the car with another driver is not very easy - you don't have all the races to prepare, and in this stage of my career I need as much experience as possible.

"But for this year, I found out just before Christmas that I will be racing for a full season in the team in 2006, so I'm very happy and I have enough time to prepare. I'm really looking forward to the season."

Klien, who tested the new RB2 at Jerez last week, said the focus right now is to make the car reliable ahead of the start of the season in Bahrain.

"We still have a few problems as it's a brand new car," Klien said. "But we're working on it, and for sure the new car is a big step forward from last year. We have to work on making it more reliable and quicker, and that's the focus right now."

The Austrian is also pleased with his experience with the new Ferrari V8 engine, having driven in a V8-powered car for the first time this month.

"Getting the Ferrari engine is a very good thing for the team," Klien said, "and everything went really well in our first test. The engine is reliable and feels powerful.

"For me, it's the first time in a V8 and obviously you really have to change the driving style. You always have to make sure you are on high revs in the corner, so you can use all the power of the V8. So it's a new challenge."