Christian Klien is confident that he will secure second spot at HRT
Christian Klien insists that he is still in the running for the second driver spot in Hispania Racing Team.
“My manager Roman Rummenigge is in permanent contact with the (HRT) team's management,” said Klien.
He has made his statement even though most observers are confident that Tonio Liuzzi and Giorgio Mondini are considered the team’s top choice for the second full season seat at the moment. On an interesting note, Tonio has revealed that HRT wants a driver who can bring a major sponsor or money along with him.
The team revealed one of its full season drivers a couple of months ago. The team chose Narain Karthikeyan as a full season driver and it is believed that it was mainly because of the fact that he brought a major sponsor Tata with him.
It was reported near the end of 2010 that the team was going through a major financial crisis but according to Narain’s recent statement, the team is currently stable financially and they have a sufficient amount of money for the 2011 Formula 1 season.
However, Christian is confident that the team is going to consider him as a vital contender for the spot. This can also mean that since Tonio is not willing to pay for a seat at HRT, maybe Klien is keen to pay for it.
Other than that, Christian believes that he is the best choice for the team in terms of pace as well.
"All tests were done with the 2010 car, which I have raced on five weekends last season," said Klien.
Nevertheless, he added that his plan B is to drive for a team as a reserve or test driver.
He is confident that the new F111 - which makes is scheduled to hit the track at Barcelona next week - will bring the team forward after spending 2010 firmly at the back of the field.
However, HRT openly admitted that Liuzzi's test at Catalunya was a step towards a possible race deal for the ex-Force India driver, but Klien - who drove for Hispania in several grands prix last year - says he has not given up on staying with the team and beating Liuzzi to the final vacant seat in the 2011 Formula 1 line-up.
On the other hand, Tonio Liuzzi says "all the elements" are in place for him to be confirmed as Hispania's second driver for 2011.
"There's no contract yet, but they need an experienced driver while I'm free after the Force India split, so the elements are all there," he told Autosprint.
He said HRT wanted to sign him rather than seeking a funded driver because it is keen to drive performance forward this year,
"I think they have done their maths and figured they need someone able to develop the car," said Liuzzi.
"Just taking it around the track is useless. Experience is good for a team's image and potential for the future. When the results arrive, then you can think about TV rights and sponsorship money.
"Let's just say that there is a reciprocal effort, also on my part and my management's, for each party to make some contribution."
The ex-Force India driver felt he was able to improve Hispania's uncompetitive 2010 car in the single test day he had last month.
"When I got in the car I noticed that the balance was poor," Liuzzi said.
"However, during the rest of the day, we made many modifications and by the afternoon we had a well-balanced car. The rear end was very good, you could drive it well.
"Obviously, there's no doubt it lacked aerodynamic load, that's the main reason why it wouldn't go quick. But I know that the new car, despite the lack of a double diffuser, is already better than the old one in this aspect."
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