Christian Klien’s F1 story isn’t one of glory and championships, but a relentless pursuit of a place on the grid. Born in Hohenems, Austria in 1983, Klien broke into F1 at a time when the sport was fierce, political, and utterly unforgiving.
| Nationality | Austrian |
|---|---|
| Born | Christian Klien 7 February 1983 Hohenems, Austria |
Jaguar: 2004
Signed by Jaguar Racing for the 2004 season, Klien stepped into a pressure cooker alongside the experienced Mark Webber. Expectations were high, but Klien delivered—showing strong qualifying pace and impressive reliability. He scored his first points with a sixth-place finish at Spa, one of the toughest circuits on the calendar, and quietly proved he belonged on the gird.
Red Bull: 2005–2006
When Red Bull Racing purchased Jaguar at the end of 2004, Klien was retained, racing alongside David Coulthard. With energy drink billions behind the team and Austrian pride in play, Klien was the obvious hometown hero. But his position was never stable.
He started 2005 strongly with points in the first two races, but had to rotate his seat with Vitantonio Liuzzi mid-season—an awkward driver-sharing experiment that exposed the instability in Red Bull’s early F1 strategy. Nevertheless, Klien clawed back his spot and finished the season with a career-best fifth place in China.
The 2006 season saw glimpses of form, but the pressure mounted. Coulthard outperformed him, and Red Bull wanted star power. With Mark Webber’s signing, Klien was out. He rejected a Red Bull-backed ChampCar offer, choosing instead to chase his F1 dream elsewhere—a bold move that cost him a full-time seat.
Reserve Driver: 2007–2009
Klien spent the next few years as a trusted reserve and development driver for Honda and later BMW Sauber, contributing behind the scenes while also keeping sharp in endurance racing, including a third-place finish at Le Mans in 2008 with Peugeot. His F1 appearances were limited—practice sessions here, rumours there—but he refused to give up.
HRT: 2010
In 2010, Klien made an unexpected return to racing with backmarker team Hispania Racing (HRT). Despite driving uncompetitive cars, he reminded the paddock of his class by outqualifying teammate Bruno Senna by over a second on his return at Singapore, and again showing solid pace in Brazil and Abu Dhabi.
But with HRT’s revolving door of pay drivers, Klien was shown the exit once more. His F1 career had quietly run its course.
He scored 14 championship points over 51 Grands Prix, competed against some of the best, and kept fighting even when the odds—and politics—weren’t in his favour.
Christian Klien Formula One World Championship career
| F1 Career | 2004–2006, 2010 |
|---|---|
| Teams | Jaguar, Red Bull, HRT |
| Entries | 51 (49 starts) |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 14 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 2004 Australian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 2010 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix |
Christian Klien Teammates
| 11 drivers | Involvement | First Year | Last Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Webber | 18 | 2004 | |
| Björn Wirdheim | 18 | 2004 | |
| Vitantonio Liuzzi | 17 | 2005 | |
| David Coulthard | 34 | 2005 | 2006 |
| Scott Speed | 2 | 2005 | |
| Robert Doornbos | 15 | 2006 | |
| Rubens Barrichello | 1 | 2007 | |
| Jenson Button | 1 | 2007 | |
| Bruno Senna | 5 | 2010 | |
| Karun Chandhok | 2 | 2010 | |
| Sakon Yamamoto | 1 | 2010 |
Christian Klien Complete Formula One Results
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Jaguar Racing | Jaguar R5 | Cosworth CR-6 3.0 V10 | AUS 11 | MAL 10 | BHR 14 | SMR 14 | ESP Ret | MON Ret | EUR 12 | CAN 9 | USA Ret | FRA 11 | GBR 14 | GER 10 | HUN 13 | BEL 6 | ITA 13 | JPN 12 | BRA 14 | 16th | 3 | ||
| Jaguar R5B | CHN Ret | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2005 | Red Bull Racing | Red Bull RB1 | Cosworth TJ2005 3.0 V10 | AUS 7 | MAL 8 | BHR DNS | SMR TD | ESP TD | MON TD | EUR TD | CAN 8 | USA DNS | FRA Ret | GBR 15 | GER 9 | HUN Ret | TUR 8 | ITA 13 | BEL 9 | BRA 9 | JPN 9 | CHN 5 | 15th | 9 |
| 2006 | Red Bull Racing | Red Bull RB2 | Ferrari 056 2.4 V8 | BHR 8 | MAL Ret | AUS Ret | SMR Ret | EUR Ret | ESP 13 | MON Ret | GBR 14 | CAN 11 | USA Ret | FRA 12 | GER 8 | HUN Ret | TUR 11 | ITA 11 | CHN | JPN | BRA | 18th | 2 | |
| 2007 | Honda Racing F1 Team | Honda RA107 | Honda RA807E 2.4 V8 | AUS | MAL | BHR | ESP | MON | CAN | USA | FRA | GBR TD | EUR | HUN | TUR | ITA | BEL | JPN | CHN | BRA | – | – | ||
| 2010 | Hispania Racing F1 Team | Hispania F110 | Cosworth CA2010 2.4 V8 | BHR | AUS | MAL | CHN | ESP TD | MON | TUR | CAN | EUR TD | GBR | GER | HUN | BEL | ITA | SIN Ret | JPN | KOR | BRA 22 | ABU 20 | 27th | 0 |
