Van der Garde takes Sauber to court and demands to be lined up in Melbourne
Giedo Van der Garde has launched legal action against Sauber. The Dutch driver claims to have a contract for 2015 with the Swiss team and demands to be on the starting grid in Melbourne.
Reserve driver in 2014 with Sauber, Giedo Van der Garde claimed he was offered a contract as a full-time driver for the 2015 season. However, the Swiss team reportedly reneged on this contract, as well as on those of full-time drivers Adrian Sutil and Esteban Gutierrez. Facing serious financial difficulties, the team based in Hinwil had to urgently sign Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr, who were more lucratively backed by their respective sponsors.
While Adrian Sutil and Esteban Gutierrez, the latter having found refuge with Ferrari today, have decided not to hold Sauber accountable, Giedo Van der Garde appears much more vehement. The former Caterham driver has decided to take legal action against Sauber in the Supreme Court of Victoria, Australia, the host country of the first Grand Prix of the season. Giedo Van der Garde demands to be placed on the starting grid in Melbourne by Sauber, under the terms of the contract. An urgent hearing on this matter is expected to take place next Monday.
The documents filed by Van der Garde with the Australian justice specify that in early November 2014, Mr. Van der Garde was informed by Ms. Monisha Kaltenborn, executive director of Sauber, that the two Sauber steering wheels had been given to other drivers and that, consequently, Mr. Van der Garde could not count on a driver position in the team in 2015.
The likelihood of seeing Giedo Van der Garde in Melbourne is therefore not as incongruous as it might seem: « The Defendant [Sauber] has been ordered to refrain from taking any action that would deprive Mr Van der Garde of his right to participate in the 2015 Formula One season as one of the two drivers named by Sauber ».
If the Australian justice system were to demand the presence of the Dutch driver on the grid next Sunday, it would, of course, remain to be seen what would happen to Marcus Ericsson or Felipe Nasr. Fortunately, the legal confusion should be resolved at the beginning of next week.
