(b.
April 16 ,
1979 in
Eindhoven ,
Netherlands ) is a Dutch
Racing driver, currently competing in
Formula One , having spent 2005 with
Minardi . On 31 October 2005, it was announced that Albers has signed a two-year contract with the
Midland F1 team.
Christijan is the son of former
Rallycross ace and
Porsche campaigner André Albers, whos best overall result ever was to win the 1979 Dutch International Rallycross Championship (GT Division). They are not related to
Marcel Albers , who was killed in a Formula 3 accident.
Albers began
Kart Racing at a young age, winning the Dutch National championship in
1997 . That same year, he was crowned Formula Ford 1800 champion in both
Netherlands and
Belgium . He also participated in the
Renault Megane Marlboro Masters series. In
1998 , he moved up to the
German Formula 3 series, winning the championship in
1999 behind 6 wins and ten
Poles .
In
2000 , Albers raced in the
Formula 3000 international championship as team-mate to
Mark Webber , failing to score a point, although team boss
Paul Stoddart later signed him again, so there may have been circumstances beyond the driver's control. He also raced in
European Formula Racing.
Beginning in
2001 , Albers raced in the
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters for
Mercedes-Benz , and graduated from a privately run team to the works AMG outfit in
2003 after the departure from the series of
Uwe Alzen . He was instantly a front-runner, finishing runner-up in
2003 with a season-high 4 wins, and challenging DTM veteran and multiple champion
Bernd Schneider for the title all the way up to the final race. In
2004 he again challenged for the championship lead for the most of the season but eventually finished third. While racing in DTM he continued to be a test and reserve driver for Minardi's Formula One interests, and has also piloted the team's two-seater F1 cars. In
November 2004 , Albers easily set the fastest time at a
Misano Di Gera D'Adda Minardi test session, despite running a mere 20 laps. He was chosen by the team to drive in the Formula One World Championship in
2005 . In the
2005 United States Grand Prix he gained his first championship points for a 5th place finish.
On the 31st of October 2005, Albers was confirmed as Midland's first official Formula One driver. Midland, the re-badged Jordan team, would make their debut in the 2006 Formula One season.
Albers started the
2006 Season well, out-pacing
Midland teammate
Tiago Monteiro . However, during the first few races,
Midland have found themselves battling with the
Super Aguri team, particularly
Takuma Sato . At the 2006
San Marino grand prix, Albers found himself being crashed into by
Yuji Ide and sent into a series of spectacular rolls. Fortunately, he was unharmed. Ide was repremanded by the race stewards for his part in the incident.
Christijan is engaged to Liselore. He currently resides in
Laren ,
Netherlands .
(Note: grands prix in denote '''points scoring''' races.)
