Broken Wings: Interview with Christian Klien

Three of the drivers who started the season in Bahrain back in March will not be taking part in this weekend's finale in Brazil. But while Juan Pablo Montoya and Jacques Villeneuve were architects of the their own departures to varying degrees, and are actively pursuing new careers, Christian Klien was the unfortunate victim of the political hotbed that is Red Bull.

For a decade he was a prodigal son of Dietrich Mateschitz, and it was his arrival in Jaguar in 2004 with personal Red Bull backing that led ultimately to the company buying and rebadging the team. Given his lack of experience - he went straight in from F3 - he hasn't done a bad job over the last three seasons. It's also fair to say that he has not done enough to suggest that he is the next Michael Schumacher (but not many have).

But by most measures he has compared favourably with David Coulthard for the past two years, and bear in mind that last year his season was badly disrupted when he had to hand his car to Tonio Liuzzi for four races, a timeshare arrangement that did neither man any favours.

This season was ruined by a string of mechanical failures, and one - in Monaco - probably changed the course of his career. At the time he had been destined to finish third, and thus it might have been Klien and not Coulthard wearing the Superman cape on the podium, and giving the team their greatest moment.

But Red Bull have run out of patience, or at least those in the camp with the greatest influence, and the team are looking elsewhere. Klien was offered the lifeline of a Champ Car seat for 2007, but he was forced to make a decision during the Italian GP weekend and preferred to pursue the last remaining opportunities in F1. So fractured had the relationship become, that immediately after the race and without prior warning he was told he would not be allowed to contest the last three races.

The only race seat still available is at Spyker, and Klien is reportedly high on what is inevitably a long list. Otherwise, salvation could come at Honda, where the team need an experienced tester to replace Anthony Davidson, who is destined for Super Aguri. Having missed the previous two Grands Prix (his father Johannes went to push his case), Christian will go to Interlagos this weekend to show his face. We spoke to him before he headed to Brazil.

AC: How do you look back on this season?

Christian Klien (Red Bull-Ferrari RB2) in the 2006 Italian Grand Prix at Monza © LAT

Klien: "Actually, it was a very disappointing year. Before the season started, we all thought as a team that Red Bull would be able to get on the podium regularly this year, which we didn't achieve because of a lot of problems at the beginning of the season, reliability problems. So it was very difficult for us actually to get points.

"That was for sure disappointing for the team, for myself, and we tried to push really hard to improve the car. In the end I had only two points this year, but it could have been a lot more. In Monaco, I could have been on the podium, in Canada I could have had points. It could have been a lot better if the reliability issues weren't there."

AC: Was Monaco the biggest disappointment of the season?

Klien: "Monaco was very disappointing. I was in P5, and in front of David, when I had a gearbox problem. It could have been a podium. In the end David achieved it, which was good for the team, and that's fine, but it hurts when you see that I could have been on the podium, and then everything could have looked a lot different. Twenty-three, already on the podium in Monaco, I think that would have been a great achievement."

AC: You had more than your fair share of mechanical retirements...

Klien: "In the first half of the season, we had so many reliability problems. Out of the first 12 races I had six technical problems, and it was just too much. Obviously we had the cooling issues in winter testing, and we didn't do a lot of testing miles. That's why when the season started we weren't actually ready."

AC: What were the highlights of the year for you?

Klien: "Bahrain, for sure, at the beginning of the season was a good race, where I finished P8, and nobody from the team expected that we would actually finish the race. That was a good one. Obviously Monaco was a highlight. Hockenheim was a good race where I finished in the points. Canada was good, but again technical problems. I was in P8 and then second gear broke and I lost a couple of positions."

AC: When did things start to go wrong with Red Bull?

Klien: "After Hungary they told me I'm not racing with Red Bull next year again. It was already quite late in the season, and after that I had to look for another direction, for another team, to race next year."

AC: What actually happened in Monza?

Klien: "Actually, after the race the team told me that I was not going to race the last three races, and obviously that was very disappointing, because for sure I wanted to finish the season with Red Bull Racing.

"Within the team all the mechanics and engineers and people around me, they really supported me the last three years, and I had a good time there. The way we finished the relationship wasn't very nice.

"After that I had to look for other ways, and now we're working quite hard to get a race seat for next year. Obviously the main possibility is with Spyker, and the other possibility is with Honda as a test driver for next year, and we're working on those two options now. I will be in Brazil, and hopefully at the beginning of November I should know a bit more."

Christian Klien was offered a Champ Car ride with PKV Racing © LAT

AC: Is it true that you didn't really say no to Champ Car, but you just couldn't decide within the deadline you were given?

Klien: "The timing was just wrong. Red Bull gave me the opportunity to race in Champ Car with a Red Bull branded car, but I had to sign the contract in Monza for this Champ Car year. That was far too early, because then I couldn't talk to other F1 teams, and that's why I said no to that.

"But still we are looking at Champ Car as well; my father was at one of the races, to see how it is. Sure, our main target is F1, and it looks quite positive and very good in this direction, but then Plan B would be Champ Car."

AC: Obviously things ended in a bad way with Red Bull. Do you think they didn't really consider the mechanical problems and just looked at the points?

Klien: "At the end of the day they actually looked just at the points. David had 14 points, and I had two points. But if you look at the facts, like Monaco and Canada, if I had scored points there, then it would have been David 12 points, and I would have had 10. So it would have looked a lot different. There are two ways to look at it, and obviously it was disappointing how it ended up."

AC: How do you think you compared with Coulthard this season?

Klien: "In qualifying I think it was nine to David, six to me. We had eight races where we both finished, and five times out of eight I was in front of him. Our race performances were very similar and qualifying was very similar, so I would say from a performance point of view we were very close together this year. I don't think that could have been a reason to stop."

AC: How disappointing is it to be dropped after ten years with Red Bull?

Klien: "It it is disappointing, but that's how it is at the moment. I have to look at the future now. It was a long relationship, and they helped me a lot in the past. It was always a good relationship, but now it's stopped, and we both have to go our own ways."

AC: In a way, it's good to have the freedom to go wherever you want now...

Klien: "It's difficult, but it's also a good situation, yes. It was already very late in the season when they told me they didn't want to work with me next year, so then we have to push hard to talk to other teams and make something happen. But basically I'm free and I can check what's the best option for me, and try to make my own career."

AC: Are you confident that something will happen?

Tiago Monteiro in the Spyker-Midland MF1 Toyota in the Japanese Grand Prix © LAT

Klien: "You know, in F1 until you have signed a contract, nothing is for sure. But these two options that I have are quite good options, and it looks quite positive. It could be quite interesting."

AC: What do you think about Spyker?

Klien: "Obviously I want to get back to races. I've had three years of F1, three years of experience, and I'm only 24 years old. And Spyker looks like they want to bring the team forward, they have the Ferrari engine next year, they have Mike Gascoyne as a designer. They are getting more good people into the team. So they definitely want to move up.

"For me it would be quite interesting to race there, to help the team, support the team, with the experience I have now, and obviously to be again in the race seat. But on the other hand, Honda are also a very interesting option, because they're a big team. Obviously it's a test driver role, but I think there are good possibilities to move up from there."

AC: And there's no chance at BMW?

Klien: "I don't think BMW will be a possibility. I'm pretty sure that it will be [Nick] Heidfeld and [Robert] Kubica, and as test driver [Sebastian] Vettel I would say. Obviously they haven't all signed yet, but it's quite clear that it will be these drivers."

AC: What do you hope to do in Brazil?

Klien: "After Monza, it was finished with the team, and if you're not at the race weekends people forget your face very quickly. So it's just to show my face at the last race and talk to people. And to be there for Sunday night!"