By Ian Lockwood
January 17 2006

In what many people see as a crucial year for Red Bull Racing driver, Christian Klien, he has stated that his goal for the 2006 season is to secure his first podium finish, and to finish in the points on a regualr basis.

Speaking at the Autosport International Show in Birmingham on Sunday Klien said “I hope we can be regularly in the top eight, and I hope I can get my first podium – that’s for sure the target. And then we should make another step forward in 2007, with an Adrian Newey-designed car.”

Klien was immediately impressed by the ex-Mclaren designer first few days working for Red Bullat last weeks tests in Jerez - “I watched him during testing last week, and you could see that he knows already what we could do better, what we can improve on the car. The car was designed by Mark Smith, who is a really good guy as well. So I am confident that we can get it quick for the first races.”

Klien went on to discuss his first impressions of the RB2 package, and didn't seem overly concerned by finishing at the bottom of the time sheets and have some cooling problems with the new car: “Getting the Ferrari engine is a very good thing for the team,” he said.“Everything went really well in our first test. The engine is reliable and feels powerful. For me, it’s the first time in a V8 and obviously you really have to change the driving style. You always have to make sure you are at high revs in the corner, so you can use all the power of the V8. So it’s a new challenge.”

Christian is also pleased that he is confirmed for the whole season rather than having to face the prospect of another 2005 style seat swapping arrangement with STR driver 'Tonio Liuzzi: “Last year was a difficult year. Sharing the car with another driver is not very easy – you don’t have all the races to prepare, and in this stage of my career I need as much experience as possible. But for this year, I found out just before Christmas that I will be racing for a full season in the team in 2006, so I’m very happy and I have enough time to prepare. I’m really looking forward to the season.”