Australian GP: Van der Garde wins against Sauber F1 and could race in Melbourne

The legal episode between Giedo van der Garde – who believed that the contract signed in 2014 allowed him to race in 2015 as a full-time driver – and the Sauber team – which had meanwhile recruited Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson – reached its conclusion this Wednesday morning in front of the Supreme Court of the State of Victoria.

The court in Melbourne has thus ruled in favor of the driver, who argued that there was a wrongful breach of the agreement. The Swiss team should therefore be compelled to let Van der Garde race in the Australian Grand Prix taking place at the end of the week, in place of one of the two drivers whose backers are, however, significant financial contributors.

During Monday’s hearing, Sauber, through its lawyer, argued that having the former Caterham driver race posed a certain degree of danger, particularly due to a presumed mismatch between the car and the driver. This argument apparently did not convince the judges.

Upon leaving the Court, Giedo van der Garde expressed happiness and readiness to fight, as reported by A. Cooper on his blog: « I am very sharp and very strong. I am eager to get back into the team and we are going to work hard to do our best this weekend. I am sharper than ever, I have been training hard for the past three months […] I had a very good relationship, I still have a very good relationship with the team. I’m looking forward to racing this weekend. I am happy that we won, and that we are here. Now, I am eager to get back to business.

It should be noted that the Court’s ruling states that the decision applies not only to Australia but to the entire 2015 season.