Christian Klien says he is pushing hard to get back into a full-time race seat for the 2011 season.
The 27-year-old is currently a reserve driver for the Hispania team.
He has had the opportunity, in Barcelona and Valencia, to replace Karun Chandhok during practice but, is yet to race for the team. Unlike Sakon Yamamoto who also signed as a reserve driver, but as of recently, has managed to take-over Karun Chandhok’s seat for the forseeable future.
Klien is still hoping for a Sunday drive this season, but admits the decision is completely down to the team – and if it doesn’t materialise this year, he says his top priority for the 2011 season is to secure a full-time seat, be that at Hispania of another team.
“All four drivers are treated equally within HRT. It’s the teams decision. But I try a lot to be in the car to collect as much experience as possible,” he told Kurier.at.
“My goal is to get back to a race seat in Formula One. Therefore, I now focus mainly on F1. Right now, F1 is my top priority.
“I am speaking with other teams [for 2011].”
The Austrian driver was also linked with both Sauber and Renault before the start of the season, but he admitted the financial climate meant he couldn’t raise the necessary funds.
“Of course, the disappointment [of not securing a seat at Renault or Sauber] was there. But in these two cases there was a question of sponsorship money. The economic crisis has also reached F1 and whoever brings the most money, gets a seat.
“You’ll always need a Plan B and that was, with me, Hispania Racing.”
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