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Previous F1 Teams:
- 2005 Minardi
- 2006 - 2007 Midland - Spyker
Victories:
Background:
Christijan Albers' father was a rallycross racer, so it was natural for the youngster to take up karting. He was Dutch karting champion as a teenager, and moved from there to Formula Ford open wheel racing, where he was also champion in the Dutch series and the Belgian series in 1997. He finished fifth in German F3 in 1998 and then won the championship in 1999. In 2000, in Formula 3000 he failed to impress and the following year he left open wheel racing for the German touring car series, known as DTM. There he raced for four years, spending two of the years as a test driver for Minardi in F1.
His Career Thus Far:
In his first year in Formula 1 at Minardi, Christijan out raced his teammates - he had two, Patrick Friesacher and Robert Doornbos. He scored four points by finishing fifth at the U.S. Grand Prix, but this was a race at which only six cars took part after all the other cars withdrew because their tires were deemed unsafe.
In 2007, however, Christijan races with a strong new rookie team mate in Adrian Sutil, and will have to use all of his experience to show what he is worth.
A Flying F1 Dutchman:
The Netherlands have long had a strong group of Formula 1 fans, but after the depature of Jos Verstappen from F1 in 2003 there was no one left for them the cheer for. Enter Christijan. He kept with him not only the Dutch fans, but also Dutch backing. Furthermore, the Spyker team owners themselves Dutch, have also invested in Christijan's career. Even so, Christijan must prove his value on the track as the team is more important than the driver.
Character:
Christijan is a serious, no nonsense person who has proven that he can perform well under pressure and earn results when given good material. But starting at the bottom of the F1 teams it is difficult to climb up the hierarchy. The move from Minardi to Midland/Spyker, the former Jordan team, should have been a progression up the ladder. But the team has yet to prove it is not on an irreversible slide. Christijan will have to exercise all of his strength of character and talent to succeed under these circumstances.
In fact, Christijan was dropped from the team part way through the 2007 season, thus ending this phase of his Formula 1 career.