Klien Wants 2009 Drive with Sauber

Although BMW Sauber's future seems to be anything but clear at the moment, test and reserve driver Christian Klien still believes he can land an F1 job with the Hinwil based team next season. The Austrian driver has been eyeing a drive with BMW's works team for some time now, but the news that the German manufacturer is to leave the sport at the end of the year has left him kind' of messed with his plans for the future.

With Nick Heidfeld already one step out of BMW for the upcoming season – and Robert Kubica almost certainly planning to leave Hinwil for a championship-aspirating team – Klien still believes he has a shot at convincing Peter Sauber and his future business partners to offer him a job next year.

The first step would be, of course, BMW's securing a quick buyout of their operations, in order for the Swiss outfit to still be able to compete in the 2010 season. After that, Klien will be right there to claim one of the two spots. However, he will not play only the BMW Sauber card for 2010, but also try to land a job with one of the 3 newly entrants in Formula One – US GPE, Manor Grand Prix or Campos.

“What I can contribute at the moment is for me to maintain maximum physical fitness, because the Ferrari example shows how quickly things can change,” said Klien in an interview with the Austrian media.

“There have been enquiries during this season. The new teams are naturally interested in drivers with experience. But anyway this team (BMW-Sauber) remains my first choice. With all the human capital and infrastructure at Hinwil I see no reason why we can't build a successful car for 2010,” added the BMW reserve.

Until now, none of the three new F1 teams have confirmed any driver for their 2010 season, although plenty of rumors on this topic have made the headlines in recent weeks.