Klien aims to maintain Jaguar advantage

Christian Klien scored his first F1 points at Spa-Francorchamps last weekend and is aiming for more to maintain Jaguar's advantage over rivals Toyota. Klien had a confident and calm drive in the Belgian Grand Prix to come home sixth and his three points lifted Jaguar one point ahead of Toyota in the constructors' standings.

Christian Klien.

Photo by Jaguar Cars and Wieck Media Services, Inc..

"We've not had the best luck this year so we should have been ahead of Toyota in the standings before now," the young Austrian told his team website. "It's just that when Toyota have scored their points it's been in strange races where there have been lots of retirements, including us, which has been the problem!"

Klien survived an incident with David Coulthard on track at Spa, when the McLaren hit the rear of his Jaguar at high speed. Coulthard narrowly avoided crashing into the wall and had to pit for a new wing but he said Klien was not to blame. ''It looked like he moved over on me,'' said the Scot. ''But I think he'd lost his left mirror -- and I was committed.''

Christian had indeed lost his wing mirror: "Towards the end of the race I was hit by David Coulthard as we got to the top of the hill after Eau Rouge," he explained. "I knew he was behind me, but I couldn't tell that he was trying to pass because I had lost my left hand side mirror. I feel sorry for him, but it wasn't deliberate."

With four races to go and so little separating Jaguar and Toyota in the fight for seventh in the standings, every point is vital. Klien believes Jaguar has the strengths to stay ahead. "It's very important now for us to finish the remaining races, get the points and be in front of them because I think we're stronger than them," he said.

Jaguar is currently testing at Monza, with Klien and teammate Mark Webber on duty. "We have to keep working on the long runs and the tyres to keep a good balance but the car's pace looked good over a single timed lap," Klien commented. "I think we'll get some very positive feedback from the test."