Albers – From DTM to F1 and back again

Christijan Albers returned to the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters for the 2008 season after three years in Formula One. The flying Dutchman had two strong DTM-seasons in 2003 and 2004, finishing second and third in the championship. In 2005 he took the step to Formula One with Minardi. But the results never came and Albers rejoined DTM. TouringCarTimes met up with Albers at the DTM-final for a chat about the past, present and the future.

During his previous DTM-run Albers was in the Mercedes-family. But the return in 2008 came with the Audi and the team Futurecom TME, in a 2006 specification Audi A4.
“As a race driver you always want to fight for the podium. But it isn’t realistic when you see the difference between a 2006 spec car and a car from 2007. Keeping this in mind, I think we did a really good job this year. The team was very motivated and did a fantastic job,” said Albers.

Albers started his Formula One-career for Minardi in 2005, then moved on to Midland in 2006 and made his final season in 2007 for Spyker. But the Dutchman found him self without a Formula One-drive for 2008 and had to look back to Touring Cars.
“The question was: Where can I find a good drive for 2008 in a race series on high level? I contacted Dr. Ullrich (Audi Motorsport-boss) and we discussed options. It was very difficult for me to drive in a car from 2006. But the results were ok and I am happy with the season.”

Despite the modest results in DTM this year, scoring zero points, the Dutchman is not longing back to the Formula One-circus.
“I had some very good years in Formula 1! I’ve earned a lot of money but to stay there you need to have even more money. My focus now is on Audi and DTM.”

The plans for 2009 are still unset for Albers. He drove the Le Mans-racer Audi R10 TDi during the American Le Mans series final and hopes to remain in the Audi-family.
“What I will do next year is a good question for Dr. Ullrich and not for me. I really hope that I can stay in the Audi-family. I think I showed during the DTM-final that I am fast enough and that I still have potential. But I do not know what Dr. Ullrich have got in mind for me at the moment.”

During the 2008 DTM-season the German series made a stop in Albers home country the Netherlands. Compared to other countries in Europe, the racing industry in the Netherlands is quite small.
“I think the development of it is very positive. But the number of spectators at the DTM-race at Zandvoort is a good proof of how big touring car racing is here. But the Netherlands is still a small country and it is hard to find big sponsors. But it is of course possible to be successful if you work hard enough for something you really want.”