Albers to test for Minardi

FAENZA, ITALY, APRIL 17, 2001 -- It was today confirmed by European Minardi F1 that Christijan Albers will join the team when it tests at the Mugello circuit, near Florence, this coming week.

The 22-year-old Dutch driver comes with impressive credentials, having won the German Formula Three Championship in 1999, followed by a successful season of competition in the FIA International F3000 Championship with European Formula Racing in 2000. This year, he is a member of the official Mercedes squad participating in the DTM (German Touring Car Championship).

"We have known Christijan for several years and rate him highly as a talented young racing driver," comments European Minardi F1 Team Principal, Paul Stoddart. "Now that the Formula One teams are back in Europe, our testing programme can begin in earnest. We have a considerable amount of work to get through as quickly as possible, so we asked Christijan to help us out on Wednesday. Needless to say, he didn't have to be asked twice!"

Albers will join regular European Minardi F1 drivers, Tarso Marques and Fernando Alonso, at Mugello as work begins in earnest on unlocking the full potential of the team's neat PS01 chassis.

"It was my birthday yesterday, and this is the best present I could have," says Albers. "I am very excited at the prospect of helping European Minardi at this test. I know many of the people on the team already from my time with them in Formula 3000. For sure, it will be a huge challenge to get to grips with the performance of a current Formula One car and hopefully provide some useful feedback to the engineers, but it's a challenge I can't wait to take on."

-Minardi