Champ car for Klien?

This week, the Red Bull Racing Team announced its 2007 drivers line-up. Christian Klien will be replaced by Mark Webber next season. There were some speculations that Klien would move to Toro Rosso, but this seems to be no option as Red Bull has offered Klien a race seat in the Champ Car series.

Austrian newspaper Salzburger Nachrichten published an interview with Helmut Marko, Red Bull's Motorsport Director where Marko explains what Klien's options are. "We made Klien an offer to race in Champ Car and there is also an alternative to race in the DTM series. He has two weeks to think about it. The door to Formula 1 is still open for Klien but only after he has shown what he can do in Champ Car."

Marko also explains why Klien will be replaced by Webber. "At the start of the season Klien was given one target: beat David Coulthard. He was not able to do it neither in the races nor in the free practice sessions. He had a good first season but he was unable to develop himself."