Just saw this. Apparently one of his sponsors wasn't paying, so they decided to split. Interesting stuff.

http://www.formula1.com/news/headlines/2007/7/6448.html

Christijan Albers will not race with the Spyker team for the remainder of the 2007 season, it was announced on Tuesday. The Dutch squad revealed the decision to terminate their current contract was taken as result of commercial difficulties caused by one of Albers’ personal sponsors.

“This has been a very difficult decision,” explained Spyker team principal Colin Kolles.

“Christijan has started to find some form in the car. But the team's ambitious development programme has been seriously compromised by non-payment by one of his sponsors and we are faced with no other option.”

Spyker’s Formula One director Michiel Mol added: “The decision to replace Christijan is one of the hardest I have had to take since becoming involved in the team. By terminating the contract with Christijan and the subsequent entering into a new contract it enables Spyker F1 Ltd. to safeguard its strong financial footing needed to fulfil its technical and commercial goals.”

“We do not expect this will have any adverse effect on Spyker F1's financial result this year. We would also like to stress this decision has nothing to do with Christijan's recent performances - we still have faith in his contribution as a driver - but the long-term future of the team is of paramount importance. We would like to thank Christijan for his input and wish him every success in the future.”

The team also revealed that an announcement on Albers’ replacement will be made in due course.

Albers made his Formula One debut back in 2005 with Minardi. In 2006, he secured a race drive with the Midland-owned MF1 team and when Dutch sportscar makers Spyker took over in late 2006, he was confirmed in their 2007 driver line-up. Albers has had a difficult season this year and has retired early in four races. His best result was his 14th-place finish at the Spanish Grand Prix in May.

They should have kept Monteiro ;)

That's been coming. I've read that Karthekeyan made a bid on the seat. I've also read the names Klien and Van der Garde surrounding this story.

We'll have to see who wants to pay the most to drive in last position.

Where does Albers go from here?

Van de Garde will get the seat, he is their reserve driver i believe..

I think the seat will go to the highest bidder, Spyker is in some financial trouble. I'm pretty sure Albers is out of F1, his performances, especially this year, were below expectations. He did really terrific in DTM though.

Nevermind about Garde, he failed to acquire an FIA Super License for 2007. Looks like Klien is a strong player....

I think the seat will go to the highest bidder, Spyker is in some financial trouble. I'm pretty sure Albers is out of F1, his performances, especially this year, were below expectations. He did really terrific in DTM though.

He is in a hand me down chassis from last year I believe... They don't have the cash the other teams do.

I would be willing to bet if Lewis Hamilton was in a spyker he would be in the same spot.

Sucks to hear. I wish the teams were more competitive.

karthikeyan (tester for williams and former jordan driver) or klien (former jaguar/red bull driver and now tester for them if I'm remembering correctly) are front runners for the seat. I don't know why teams like spyker even bother. I will F1 would require factory sponsorship to keep things competitive. While super aguri has made huge strides in a short time, they still will never challenge for a win. and in the end winning is all that matters in racing.

On the Fox broadcast, they mentioned there was a rumor floating around that BMW was shopping Vettel to other teams. He wouldn't go to Spyker, would he?

karthikeyan (tester for williams and former jordan driver) or klien (former jaguar/red bull driver and now tester for them if I'm remembering correctly) are front runners for the seat. I don't know why teams like spyker even bother. I will F1 would require factory sponsorship to keep things competitive. While super aguri has made huge strides in a short time, they still will never challenge for a win. and in the end winning is all that matters in racing.


F1 would really suck with 5 or 6 teams on the grid. The huge fields (30 cars or more) of the late 80's & early 90's were extremely entertaining to watch. Some of the cars never made it past the grid, but they still added an element of excitement to the proceedings.

There were teams with engines supplied by boutique manufacturers back in those days like Brian Hart, Judd, Life, and Motori Moderni. Some of the factory teams used private-label engines from specialty builders like Cosworth and Ilmor.

Even though two teams won almost every race, F1 was far more interesting back then.

He is in a hand me down chassis from last year I believe... They don't have the cash the other teams do.

I would be willing to bet if Lewis Hamilton was in a spyker he would be in the same spot.

I meant his performance relative to his teammate Sutil, who's often quicker, and his numerous "odd" crashes.

F1 would really suck with 5 or 6 teams on the grid. The huge fields (30 cars or more) of the late 80's & early 90's were extremely entertaining to watch. Some of the cars never made it past the grid, but they still added an element of excitement to the proceedings.

There were teams with engines supplied by boutique manufacturers back in those days like Brian Hart, Judd, Life, and Motori Moderni. Some of the factory teams used private-label engines from specialty builders like Cosworth and Ilmor.

Even though two teams won almost every race

What's different now? and yes, it was MUCH more exciting.