BARCELONA, 19 January 2004 — Until two weeks ago, Christian Klien had never been outside Europe or more than three hours’ flight from his home in a sleepy backwater near the Austrian-Swiss border.
Finland was the furthest he had traveled.
But Jaguar are confident the 20-year-old former sheet metalworker can make an impression on the world stage when he swaps Austria for Australia for his Formula One debut with them in Melbourne on March 7. “I think he is the real deal,” said Australian Mark Webber, who has yet to have a teammate complete a full season alongside him. Last year Brazilian Antonio Pizzonia started just 11 races before being replaced by Briton Justin Wilson.
Klien has been helped up to Formula One by considerable backing from Austrian energy drink brand Red Bull, a relationship that started when, as a 13-year-old, he wrote to company founder Dietrich Mateschitz asking for help. That alone would not have been enough to secure the Jaguar drive but they were impressed with Klien’s composure, speed and attitude when they tested him in Spain last year.
Before that he had finished runner-up in the European Formula Three series, winning four races as well as the non-championship Marlboro Masters at Zandvoort in the Netherlands.
