Christijan Albers () (born 16 April 1979) is a Dutch former professional

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

. After success in the

DTM DTM may refer to: Sport * Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters, a motor-racing series staged annually in Germany since 2000 * Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft, a motor-racing championship staged in Germany from 1984 to 1995 Computing * Deterministic T ...

he drove in

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

from until the 2007 British Grand Prix, shortly after which he was dropped by the

Spyker F1 The Spyker F1 Team, known as the Etihad Aldar Spyker F1 Team for sponsorship reasons, was a Formula One team that competed in the 2007 Formula One World Championship with a Dutch licence. It was created by Spyker Cars after their buyout of the ...

team. In 2008, he returned to the DTM series as a driver for the Audi Futurecom TME team. Albers acted as Team Principal and CEO of the

Caterham F1 The Caterham F1 Team was a Malaysian, later British owned Formula One team based in the United Kingdom which raced under a Malaysian licence. The Caterham brand competed in the Formula One World Championship from to , following the acquisitio ...

Team from July to September 2014 after it was acquired by new team owners.

Personal

Christijan was born in

Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,rallycross ace and

Porsche 911 The Porsche 911 (pronounced ''Nine Eleven'' or in german: Neunelfer) is a two-door 2+2 high performance rear-engined sports car introduced in September 1964 by Porsche AG of Stuttgart, Germany. It has a rear-mounted flat-six engine and origin ...

Carrera campaigner André Albers, who won the 1979 Dutch International Rallycross Championship (GT Division). They are not related to their compatriot

Marcel Albers Marcel Albers (April 29, 1967 – April 20, 1992) was a Dutch motor racing driver. Having progressed through the ranks of the Dutch formulae, including a Formula Ford championship win in 1989, Albers moved to the Opel Euroseries for 1990, going ...

, who was killed in a British

Formula Three Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One driv ...

accident at Thruxton in 1992. Albers is married to Liselore Kooijman. Their wedding took place on 11 November 2006 in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. He resides in

Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...

Early career

Albers began

kart racing Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on kart circuit, scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are als ...

at a young age, winning the Dutch National championship in 1997. That same year, he was crowned

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. Formula For ...

1800 champion in both

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. He also participated in the Renault Megane Marlboro Masters series. In 1998, he moved up to the German Formula Three series, winning the championship in 1999 with six wins and ten

poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...

. In 2000, Albers raced in the

International Formula 3000 The Formula 3000 International Championship was a motor racing series created by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) in 1985 to become the final preparatory step for drivers hoping to enter Formula One. Formula Two had become t ...

championship as team-mate to Mark Webber. He failed to score a point, but team boss

Paul Stoddart Paul Stoddart (born 26 May 1955) is an Australian businessman, airline owner and former Minardi Formula One team boss. Personal life Born in Coburg, Melbourne, Australia, and attended Preston Technical School and St Joseph's College Melbou ...

later signed him again. He also raced in European Formula Racing.

DTM

Beginning in 2001, Albers raced in the

Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters The Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM, German Touring Car Masters) is a grand touring car series sanctioned by ITR e.V. who have been affiliated to the DMSB-FIA since 1984. The series is based in Germany, with rounds elsewhere in Europe. The ser ...

for

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...

, and graduated from a privately run team to the works AMG outfit in 2003 after the departure from the series of

Uwe Alzen Uwe Alzen (born 18 August 1967) is a German racing driver specialised in touring car racing and sports car racing. Biography He won the 1992 Porsche Carrera Cup Deutschland, the 1994 Porsche Supercup and the 1995 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterscha ...

. He was instantly a front-runner, finishing runner-up in 2003 with a season-high four 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.

Formula One

Minardi (2005)

While racing in the DTM, Albers continued to be a test and reserve driver for Minardi's Formula One interests, and also drove the team's two-seater Formula One cars. In November 2004, he set the fastest time at a Misano di Gera d'Adda Minardi test session. He was chosen by the team to drive in the Formula One World Championship in 2005. At the

2005 United States Grand Prix The 2005 United States Grand Prix (officially the 2005 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix) was a Formula One motor race held on June 19, 2005, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and was the ninth race of the 2005 Formula One World Championship. ...

he gained his first championship points with a fifth-place finish, a race where only six drivers started.

Midland/Spyker F1 (2006–2007)

On 31 October 2005 Albers was confirmed as Midland's first official Formula One driver. Midland, the renamed Jordan team, made their debut in the

2006 Formula One season The 2006 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 60th season of Formula One motor racing. It featured the 57th Formula One World Championship which began on 12 March and ended on 22 October after eighteen races. The Drivers' Championshi ...

. Albers started the 2006 season well, out-pacing Midland teammate

Tiago Monteiro Tiago Vagaroso da Costa Monteiro (; born 24 July 1976) is a Portuguese professional racing driver currently competing in the World Touring Car Cup, driving a Honda Civic TCR for Engstler Motorsport. He competed in Formula One between 2005 an ...

. However, during the first few races, Midland found themselves battling with the

Super Aguri Super Aguri F1 was a Formula One team that competed from to . The team, founded by former F1 driver Aguri Suzuki, was based in Tokyo, Japan, but operated from the former Arrows factory at the Leafield Technical Centre, Oxfordshire, England. T ...

team, particularly

Takuma Sato , nicknamed "Taku", is a Japanese professional racing driver. Sato is a two time winner of the Indianapolis 500, having won the event in 2017 and 2020. He was the first Asian driver to win the Indianapolis 500, and the twentieth driver to win th ...

. At the

2006 San Marino Grand Prix The 2006 San Marino Grand Prix (formally the Formula 1 Gran Premio Foster's di San Marino 2006) was a Formula One motor race held at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola, Italy on 23 April 2006. The 62-lap race was the fourth round of the 200 ...

, Albers found himself being crashed into by

Yuji Ide (born 21 January 1975) is a Japanese racing driver. He is the 2005 Formula Nippon runner-up and the 2010 Suzuka 1000km winner. He competed in Formula One with the Super Aguri team in 2006, but was demoted to third driver after four races and ...

and sent into a series of spectacular rolls. Incredibly he was unharmed. Ide was reprimanded by the race stewards. Ide also had his

Super Licence The FIA Super Licence is a driver's qualification allowing the holder to compete in the Formula One World Championship. Requirements Super Licence To qualify for an FIA Racing Super Licence an applicant must meet the requirements of the FIA's Inte ...

revoked for severe dangerous driving. After initial confusion over Albers's plans for 2007 after the takeover of MF1 by

Spyker Cars Spyker Cars (, ) is a Dutch sports car marque. The modern Spyker Cars held the legal rights to the brand name. The company's motto is "''Nulla tenaci invia est via''", Latin for "For the tenacious, no road is impassable". The marque's logo dis ...

, it was eventually confirmed that he would be driving for the

team in 2007. It was later found out that Albers signed a contract with Midland F1 to remain with the team prior to the sale to Spyker. Albers's personal sponsors had major influences in Spyker buying the Midland F1 team. In early 2007 he was outperformed by rookie team-mate

Adrian Sutil Adrian Sutil (; born 11 January 1983) is a German-Uruguayan racing driver who raced in Formula One for seven seasons: from 2007–2011, then 2013–2014. He drove for the Spyker F1 Team, Force India F1 Team and the Sauber F1 Team. He was also t ...

. At

Magny-Cours Magny-Cours () is a Communes of France, commune in the Nièvre Departments of France, department in central France. It is the home of the ''Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours'', a famous Motorsport#Motor racing, motor racing circuit (whose name is of ...

he ignored the lollipop telling him not to leave the pits during a pitstop, driving off with part of the fuel rig still attached. Albers expressed relief that nobody was hurt, but he received a €5,000 penalty for dangerous driving. Spyker technical director

Mike Gascoyne Michael Robert Gascoyne (born 2 April 1963) is a British Formula One designer and engineer. Gascoyne has worked for numerous Grand Prix teams including McLaren, Sauber, Tyrrell, Jordan (later known as Midland F1, Spyker, Force India, Racing P ...

commented that he was mystified by the mistake. On 10 July 2007 he was released from his Spyker contract, due to a lack of sponsorship money, which would have compromised the team's development programme. Team owner

Michiel Mol Michiel Mol (born 4 August 1969) is a Dutch businessman, and former director of Spyker F1 and Force India. Early life and career Mol was born in Delft, Netherlands. His father, Jan Mol, co-founded the software company Volmac in 1966. The co ...

described it as "one of the toughest decisions of my career". His replacement for the

2007 European Grand Prix The 2007 European Grand Prix (formally the 2007 Formula 1 Grand Prix of Europe) was a Formula One motor race held at Nürburgring, Nürburg, Germany on 22 July 2007. It was the tenth race of the 2007 FIA Formula One World Championship. The 60 ...

was former Spyker test driver

Markus Winkelhock Markus Winkelhock (born 13 June 1980) is a German professional racing driver. He is the son of Manfred Winkelhock and nephew of Joachim Winkelhock, both of whom were Formula One drivers in the 1980s. During his brief Formula One career he led the ...

Sakon Yamamoto is a Japanese racing driver turned politician. He competed in 21 Formula One Grands Prix during the , 2007 and 2010 seasons. Before Formula One Yamamoto was born in Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture. He began his racing career in 1994 at the Suzuka ...

then raced for Spyker for the rest of the year. Albers returned with the Spyker team for the Rotterdam street racing event in the Netherlands, on the 18 / 19 August.

Team principal at Caterham F1 (2014)

On 2 July 2014

Tony Fernandes Anthony Francis Fernandes (born 30 April 1964) is a Malaysian entrepreneur. He is the founder of Tune Air Sdn. Bhd., which took over the first Malaysian budget airline, AirAsia. Fernandes turned AirAsia, a failing government-linked commer ...

sold the

Caterham F1 Team The Caterham F1 Team was a Malaysian, later British owned Formula One team based in the United Kingdom which raced under a Malaysian licence. The Caterham brand competed in the Formula One World Championship from to , following the acquisitio ...

to a consortium of

Swiss Swiss may refer to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina *Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses *Swiss-system tournament, in various games and sports *Swiss Internation ...

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

ern investors. Subsequently, team principal

Cyril Abiteboul Cyril François Roger Abiteboul (born 14 October 1977) is a French motor racing engineer and manager. From 2013 to 2014 he was the team principal of Caterham Formula One team, and was the managing director of the Renault F1 Team from 2014 to 2020 ...

stepped down and Albers was given his position in the team by the consortium. He ran the team on a day-to-day basis until Caterham collapsed following the 2014 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Return to DTM

Christijan Albers returned to the

-series in December 2007 as the Dutchman was invited by the

Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. As a subsidiary of its parent company, the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. Th ...

-team of

Futurecom TME The Vanwall Racing Team is an Austrian-German auto racing team based in Greding, Germany. The team currently fields the No. 4 Vanwall Vandervell 680 in the FIA World Endurance Championship. It was founded in 2000 by Romulus Kolles and his son Co ...

for a week of testing in

Jerez de la Frontera Jerez de la Frontera (), or simply Jerez (), is a Spanish city and municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, located midway between the Atlantic Ocean and the Cádiz Mountains. , the ...

. He tested for this team again on the

Mugello Circuit Mugello Circuit () is a race track in Scarperia e San Piero, Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The circuit length is . It has 15 turns and a long straight. The circuit stadium stands have a capacity of 50,000. Grand Prix motorcycle racing host an ann ...

in early March. Christijan Albers was confirmed as a race driver for the Futurecom TME race team for 2008. He raced alongside

Katherine Legge Katherine Anne Legge ( ; born 12 July 1980) is a British professional auto racing driver, competing in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. She is also featured in ''Richard Hammond's Crash Course''. Racing career Early racing and Atlantics ...

in a 2006 Specification Audi A4 DTM. Albers is the

's most successful driver in the

series, finishing as runner-up in the 2003 championship.

Sportscar racing

It was announced on 9 October 2008 that Albers would be racing with Audi Sport North America in the American Le Mans Series. He piloted the #1 R10 TDI, partnered with Emanuele Pirro at Laguna Seca, the ALMS final round. This was another step by Audi to bring youth to their Le Mans programs, following Marcel Fässler's two races in the R10. He finished this race in second place behind the #2 car from the same team. He moved into the

Le Mans Series The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...

for the 2009 season, moving to the customer

team, run by

Colin Kolles Colin Kolles (born Călin Colesnic 13 December 1967 in Timișoara) is a Romanian-German former team principal and managing director of the Hispania Racing F1 Team, previously holding a similar position at the team known under the names Jordan, ...

Helmet design

Albers' helmet design consists of an orange helmet with multiple black dots over it. He later changed it to the same design, but with inverted colors.

Career as TV analyst

In 2021, it was announced that Albers would be part of the permanent team of Formula One analysts for the new Dutch sports broadcaster

Viaplay Viaplay is a streaming service owned by Viaplay Group which is based in Stockholm. History Originally owned by Modern Times Group, it was launched in May 2007 as Viasat On Demand. It was rebranded as Viaplay in 2011. Viaplay released its first ...

from 2022 onwards. At the Dutch TV channel, Albers is accompanied by other analysts such as former Formula One driver

Giedo van der Garde Giedo Gijsbertus Gerrit van der Garde (born 25 April 1985 in Rhenen, Netherlands) is a Dutch racing driver, currently competing in the 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship for TDS Racing. From 2018 to 2021 he competed in the FIA World Endurance Cha ...

as well as

Tom Coronel Tom Romeo Coronel (born 5 April 1972) is a Dutch professional racing driver. Tom's twin brother Tim is also a racer, just like their father Tom Coronel Sr. His most important results are winning the Marlboro Masters of Formula 3 race in 1997, th ...

and former GP2 driver and current WEC driver

Ho-Pin Tung Ho-Pin Tung (; born December 4, 1982) is a Chinese-Dutch racing driver who races with a Chinese license. Career Born in Velp, Gelderland, Netherlands, Tung started kart racing in the Netherlands in 1997 before graduating to single-seaters. I ...

Racing record

Career summary

Complete International Formula 3000 results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete DTM results

(

) *† — Retired, but was classified as he completed 90% of the winner's race distance.

Complete Formula One results

(

) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap) ^† Did not finish the race, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.

Complete American Le Mans Series results

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete Le Mans Series results

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Albers, Christijan 1979 births Living people Sportspeople from Eindhoven Dutch racing drivers Dutch Formula One drivers Formula Ford drivers German Formula Three Championship drivers Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters drivers International Formula 3000 drivers Minardi Formula One drivers Midland Formula One drivers Spyker Formula One drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers American Le Mans Series drivers European Le Mans Series drivers FIA World Endurance Championship drivers Auto racing crew chiefs Asian Le Mans Series drivers HWA Team drivers Van Amersfoort Racing drivers Opel Team BSR drivers Team Rosberg drivers Kolles Racing drivers British Formula Three Championship drivers Mercedes-AMG Motorsport drivers Audi Sport drivers