Christijan Albers is a Dutch former professional racing driver who competed in Formula One from 2005 to 2007. Before his F1 career, Albers found success in the DTM touring car series, and after leaving F1, he later returned to DTM in 2008. Beyond racing, he also briefly served as Team Principal and CEO of Caterham F1 in 2014. His estimated net worth is around 50 million dollars.
| Nationality | Dutch |
|---|---|
| Born | Christijan Albers 16 April 1979 Eindhoven, North Brabant, Netherlands |
Formula One Career
Minardi: 2005
While still racing in DTM, Albers served as a test and reserve driver for Minardi, also running the team’s two-seater F1 cars. In late 2004, he topped the timesheets at a Minardi test in Misano, earning him a full-time F1 seat for 2005. His standout result came at the 2005 United States Grand Prix, where he scored his first and only championship points with fifth place — though the race was unusual, with only six starters due to the Michelin tire controversy.
Midland / Spyker: 2006–2007
Albers was announced as the Midland team’s first full-time driver when the former Jordan team rebranded for the 2006 season. He generally outpaced teammate Tiago Monteiro but spent much of the year battling backmarkers like Super Aguri. At the 2006 San Marino Grand Prix, he was dramatically launched into a series of rolls after being hit by Yuji Ide. Remarkably, he walked away unhurt, while Ide lost his FIA Super Licence shortly after for dangerous driving.
When Midland was sold to Spyker Cars, Albers stayed on for 2007 thanks to a contract signed before the takeover and backing from his personal sponsors. However, he struggled against rookie teammate Adrian Sutil. His low point came at the 2007 French Grand Prix in Magny-Cours, when he mistakenly drove away from a pit stop with the fuel rig still attached. Though no one was hurt, Albers was fined €5,000 for dangerous driving, and the team was baffled by the error.
On 10 July 2007, Albers was dropped by Spyker mid-season due to lack of sponsorship funds. Team owner Michiel Mol described the call as “one of the toughest decisions” of his career. Markus Winkelhock replaced Albers for the European GP, with Sakon Yamamoto taking over for the remainder of the season. Albers later reappeared with Spyker at the Rotterdam street racing event in August 2007.
Team Principal at Caterham: 2014
In July 2014, Tony Fernandes sold the Caterham F1 Team to a group of Swiss-Middle Eastern investors. With Cyril Abiteboul stepping down, Albers was appointed Team Principal and CEO, handling day-to-day operations. However, Caterham collapsed at the end of the year after the 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, ending his short tenure in management.
Christijan Albers Formula One World Championship career
| F1 Career | 2005–2007 |
|---|---|
| Teams | Minardi, Midland, Spyker |
| Entries | 46 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 0 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 4 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 2005 Australian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 2007 British Grand Prix |
Christijan Albers Teammates
| 10 drivers | Involvement | First Year | Last Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patrick Friesacher | 11 | 2005 | |
| Robert Doornbos | 8 | 2005 | |
| Chanoch Nissany | 1 | 2005 | |
| Enrico Toccacelo | 3 | 2005 | |
| Markus Winkelhock | 4 | 2006 | |
| Tiago Monteriro | 18 | 2006 | |
| Giorgio Mondini | 9 | 2006 | |
| Adrian Sutil | 12 | 2006 | 2007 |
| Alexandre Premat | 1 | 2006 | |
| Ernesto Viso | 1 | 2006 |
Christijan Albers 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Minardi F1 Team | Minardi PS04B | Cosworth CR-3L 3.0 V10 | AUS Ret | MAL 13 | BHR 13 | 19th | 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| Minardi PS05 | Cosworth TJ2005 3.0 V10 | SMR Ret | ESP Ret | MON 14 | EUR 17 | CAN 11 | USA 5 | FRA Ret | GBR 18 | GER 13 | HUN NC | TUR Ret | ITA 19 | BEL 12 | BRA 14 | JPN 16 | CHN 16 † | |||||||
| 2006 | Midland F1 Racing | Midland M16 | Toyota RVX-06 2.4 V8 | BHR Ret | MAL 12 | AUS 11 | SMR Ret | EUR 13 | ESP Ret | MON 12 | GBR 15 | CAN Ret | USA Ret | FRA 15 | GER DSQ | HUN 10 | TUR Ret | ITA 17 | 22nd | 0 | ||||
| Spyker MF1 Racing | Spyker M16 | Toyota RVX-06 2.4 V8 | CHN 15 | JPN Ret | BRA 14 | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2007 | Etihad Aldar Spyker F1 Team | Spyker F8-VII | Ferrari 056H 2.4 V8 056H 2.4 V8 | AUS Ret | MAL Ret | BHR 14 | ESP 14 | MON 19 † | CAN Ret | USA 15 | FRA Ret | GBR 15 | EUR | HUN | TUR | ITA | BEL | JPN | CHN | BRA | 25th | 0 |
