Klien replaced despite fine drives
 |  Changing roles. Klien (left) steps aside for Liuzzi (right) for the next three Grand Prix. |
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LONDON, England -- Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi will replace Austrian Christian Klien for the next three rounds of the Formula One world championship, his Red Bull team said on Tuesday.
Liuzzi, 24, will back up 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."
"I am very happy to get this chance to race in Formula One, which has always been my target since I started racing," said Liuzzi, who has acted as the team's test driver.
Red Bull said they would make an announcement in due course about who would fill Liuzzi's place in a Friday test session. Klien is ineligible for the role.
Reuters contributed to this report.
