Formula One news

Up close with Midland

Midland has big plans for the future. Next year the team wants to be a consistent points- scoring outfit. Team principal Colin Kolles claims next years car will be a lot quicker. It is only a question of how much the competition will have improved. One of Kolles' wishes is already fulfilled: signing Christijan Albers. "I don't want a Fisichella or Trulli," he said. "I want Albers in the car."

When Midland took over Jordan, the team was a big mess. Also on track, Jordan was a mere shadow of the team it once was. Even Minardi was sometimes faster. Something had to be done. Midland brought our an improved version of the EJ15. "It was an improvement," Kolles told F1Racing.net. "But we were not a lot faster. However, the 2006 car is completely new. We know we will be faster, that has already been proven in the tests at the factory. It is just the question how fast the competition will be."

"All the teams were very close last season," he continued. "We were less then two seconds off Ferrari's pace. A year earlier that would have been great, but now we were at the back of the grid."

Former Minardi driver Christijan Albers claims Jordan was faster then Minardi. "Only when we had a weekend in which everything worked out the way we wanted, we could come close or beat Jordan," Albers said. "When they had a reasonable weekend, we couldn't do anything about it. It is hard to tell from the outside, but you have no idea how hard we had to work to be in front of Jordan."

At the beginning of the season, Trevor Carlin was also involved in the Midland project, but not for long. Colin Kolles thinks he had no other choice. "You have to see Midland as a ship. We sail in a certain direction and also without Carlin we keep on sailing. A team can never depend on one person. If you don't function at 100%, you have to go. We have to go on, forward, always."

Still Midland is depending financially on Alex Shnaider. Still the team is looking for funding from sponsors. There are talks with a potential title sponsor, although Kolles can't give away too much. "I'm waiting for a phone call. But I can't say too much about it. We will announce it when the situation is more clear."

The team principal has the same to say when asked about Tiago Monteiro, whether he already signed or not. "Tiago did a good job last year and it's most likely he will be in the car. I talked to him about the reports in the Portuguese press. He told me he was misquoted. You can't control everything. I can't control the press. Nothing is confirmed yet. We will announce it when another driver has been signed."

Who the second driver of the team will be, is not a thing Christijan Albers is worrying about, though he would like to be partnered by a fast driver. Anthony Davidson for example. "He is hyped in the English media, but I think he is not that special. It would be funny when a guy like me from Holland would beat him. But I don't really care about my team mate. I have seen the list of candidates and I think I can work with all of them. Until it's confirmed, I don't mind. When somebody is signed we will have to work together to develop the better car."

Pastorelli tests for Jordan

Kolles also confirmed there is a chance of Midland taking a second test driver, next to Nicky Pastorelli. Marcus Winkelhock - a possible candidate - will have his first test in Jerez in a few weeks. Albers would not mind having an extra pair of hands helping him to develop the car. "I know when I have to test next year and that is enough. Maybe the other guy is good in developing the front of the car. That is not my specialty, while I'm good in working with the backside of the car. I don't think an inexperienced driver can't develop an F1 car. You have to get used to it, but it is mainly about the feeling you have."

It was no secret that Midland has been interested in Christijan Albers for some time. But the announcement came a few months after the first reports. "But I never had doubts about Christijan," Kolles said. "He is fast and experienced from a racing point of view with all the time he spent winning in DTM. A lot of experienced F1 drivers are struggling in DTM - it is a tough series. If we contracted Alesi, everybody would have loved it. But Albers is faster then Alesi. Still we hear people saying that we signed a too inexperienced driver. I always liked takings risks, but this is a controlled risk. I know Christijan since his time in F3, I know what he can do. To me, he is one of the fastest drivers. I don't want a Fisichella or Trulli. I want Albers in the car."

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