Christian Klien fit for 2007 season

Christian Klien’s preparations for the forthcoming Formula One season are well underway. The Honda Racing F1 Team’s Test & Reserve Driver Christian Klien began the New Year by undertaking extensive training in the Austrian Alps with his personal trainer, former Karate World Champion Daniel Devigile.

As Test & Reserve Driver, training is just as tough for Christian as it is for race driver team-mates Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello.

“In fact I think my fitness levels have to be as high as if I was going to be racing every weekend this year,” says Christian Klien. “As Test and Reserve Driver, I will support Jenson and Rubens during the team’s testing programme, but also be available to step into the car if needed during the season. Racing the car is probably the best way to keep in top condition, so I will be compensating by training harder than ever.”

Being born and brought up in the Vorarlberg region of Western Austria, Christian naturally includes skiing, hiking, mountain biking and other alpine sports in his training programme, but he is also a regular visitor to the gym. However the highlight of the next couple of weeks for Christian will be the launch of the new Honda RA107 and returning to the cockpit.

“The launch of any new Formula One car is always exciting but for me this year is very special because Honda is a legendary name in the sport and I am confident the team is going to be competitive,” says Christian. “In the short time I have been working with Honda I can see the enormous commitment, technical capability and professionalism with which they work. I am looking forward to seeing the new car next week but most of all to driving it.”