PARIS - Austrian driver Christian Klien will be replaced by Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi in the Red Bull Formula One team for the next three Grand Prix races, the team announced on Tuesday.
Third team driver since the opening race of the season in Australia, Liuzzi, 24, will be second to lead driver David Coulthard at Imola on April 24, Barcelona on May 8 and Monaco on May 22.
The move comes despite Klien's impressive performances compared to Scottish driver Coulthard since the start of the season.
Christian Horner, sporting director of Red Bull, the Austrian drinks maker who took over Jaguar last November, said: "Christian has performed faultlessly in the first three races. This decision is simply an opportunity to evaluate his counterpart."
04/05/2005 13:50 GMT