Christijan Albers

Christijan Albers (born April 16, 1979): A Dutch racing driver who achieved considerable success in touring cars before and after a challenging three-year stint in Formula One. Albers first made his name in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters (DTM) series, joining Mercedes-Benz in 2001. He progressed from a privately-run team to the works AMG outfit in 2003, where he finished as championship runner-up with a season-high four race victories. In 2004, he again challenged for the championship lead throughout most of the season, ultimately finishing third.

This success earned him a Formula One opportunity with Minardi for the 2005 season. Albers participated in 46 Formula One Grands Prix between 2005 and 2007, though his F1 career proved difficult. His only championship points came at the controversial 2005 United States Grand Prix, where he finished fifth in a race where only six cars started due to a tire safety dispute. On October 31, 2005, Albers was confirmed as Midland F1's first official driver for the 2006 season, joining the renamed Jordan team.

For 2007, after initial confusion following MF1's takeover by Spyker Cars, he was confirmed to drive for the Spyker F1 team. However, his tenure was short-lived as he was outperformed by rookie teammate Adrian Sutil. On July 10, 2007, Albers was released from his Spyker contract due to a lack of sponsorship funding, ending his Formula One career. Following his F1 exit, Albers returned to the DTM in 2008 and competed in various other racing categories.

He later transitioned into team management roles and became a television analyst and commentator for Formula One coverage in the Netherlands, sharing his insights and experience with Dutch racing fans.