Much more experienced drivers Pedro de la Rosa and Nick Heidfeld are also competing for the Sauber job, with the latter having the most chances of actually landing it. The German driver competed for the Swiss outfit in F1 for the past 9 years and is known to be very close to team owner Peter Sauber.
A good example to show the closeness in that relationship is the fact that Sauber gifted Heidfeld a real F1 car at the end of last season, when the future of the Hinwil based outfit was in the dark.
As for Klien, the Austrian has been test/reserve driver for the BMW Sauber team for the past 2 years and recently admitted that he is holding off a potential programme in the Le Mans event (with Peugeot) in order to focus on getting that Sauber seat.
“If Christian gets the Sauber cockpit it would be great. I have always supported Christian, it would definitely be a good team for him,” said Ecclestone to Austrian national broadcaster ORF during a winter vacation at the exclusive Lech am Arlberg ski resort, as reported by the GMM news agency.
Klien is no stranger from F1 action however, as the Austrian racer has 48 Grand Prix presences under his belt, with teams like Jaguar or Red Bull Racing. His overall points gain rests at 12, with a personal high 5th place during the 2005 Chinese Grand Prix.
Sauber F1 already confirmed Kamui Kobayashi for the 2010 Formula One season, as the Japanese rookie is expected to bring a great deal of sponsorship money with him, from Panasonic.
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