Christian Klien has not given up on his desire to race in Formula 1 again, despite his recent foray into sportscars with a run to third place on his Le Mans 24 Hours debut.
The
BMW Sauber test and reserve driver has been out of racing action since 2006 when he was dropped by
Red Bull Racing before the year was out, the Austrian since assuming testing duties with
Honda before switching to BMW this year.
However, after accepting the chance to join Peugeot's all-star driver line-up for the endurance classic, Klien nonetheless maintains that he only has eyes for Formula 1 and is not considering a switch to anywhere else some time soon.
Indeed, Klien admits that competing for Peugeot has merely increased his desire to race in
Formula 1, claiming he wants to race in a similarly professional environment such as his current employers.
"Naturally I want to race in Formula One and although I have never changed my motivation to race it has become even stronger since having the chance to race for Peugeot at Le Mans," Klien told
Pitpass.
"I enjoyed that experience; to race a competitive car, to have the chance to win and to push all the time. I want to have the same experience in
Formula One, and for sure the BMW Sauber
F1 Team is my ideal choice. The team is working so well together, and the victory in Canada last month shows what can be achieved.
“There is still a lot of work ahead to become a consistent race-winning team, but the BMW Sauber F1 Team has that potential. Just in the same way as a team develops, I know I have developed also, and that makes me confident for the future."
Klien, a Formula 3 Masters winner, was something of a surprise choice to race for Jaguar in 2004, but he did at least experience modest success when the team morphed into Red Bull Racing, scoring a best finish of fifth at the 2005 Japanese Grand Prix. However, Klien later fell from favour when his Red Bull sponsorship was pulled following a dispute over his refusal to take up an offer of racing in the United States.
