Klien Confirmed by HRT F1 for Abu Dhabi

Christian Klien will retain his seat with Hispania Racing F1 Team for the season finale in Abu Dhabi, as confirmed today via a press release from the Spanish team. The Austrian racer was initially called by Colin Kolles to replace Japanese Sakon Yamamoto for the races in Singapore and Brazil, but Klien's good run at Interlagos seems to have convinced HRT to give him one more opportunity to drive the 2010 challenger.

“I’m looking forward the last race of 2010 in Abu Dhabi. It’s my third chance to compete for the team this season and I’m getting more and more used to the car and the crew. I hope we can achieve some great results and have a clean weekend,” said Klien in a preview for the Brazilian GP.

In his only two outings with Hispania F1 Racing so far, Klien outqualified teammate Bruno Senna both times, while also crossing the finish line in the Brazilian GP (that might not sound like much, but considering how the HRT cars behaved so far in 2010, we must admit finishing a race is quite a feat, even if 6 laps down). In Abu Dhabi, he'll get the chance to try out the track for the first time in career.

“It will be my first time at this modern racetrack that combines very long straights with a technical slow part with not many runoff areas. There are basically two very different sections, so you need a good top speed for the long straights as well as some downforce and mechanical grip for the slow section.”

“A further difficulty is the visibility, as the race starts at 5pm. We should have a similar pace to the one in Brazil, so I think we can be a challenge for the new teams,” concluded the Austrian racer.