Born: 16/4/79 Nationality: Dutch Team: Spyker First GP: Australia 2005 Best result: 5th 2006 position: 22nd Previous teams: Midland, Spyker

Christijan Albers largely owed his place in Formula One to being able to pay for his drive - and in the end that was his downfall at Spyker.

He had in any case been overshadowed by rookie team-mate Adrian Sutil this season, and when a sponsorship payment failed to turn up they dropped him.

The Dutchman has a smooth, committed driving style allied to a racer's edge.

But the speed shown by Sutil underlined what many suspected - that he was not out of the top drawer.