Giedo van der Garde, Sauber reach settlement

[Jordan Wilkins]

Whilst it appeared in the build up to last weekend's Australian Grand Prix that Giedo van der Garde would be a late addition to the Sauber team after a court order, it now appears that both sides have reached a financial settlement to end their high profile dispute.

Van der Garde took the team to court in Australia last week, hoping to get a court order which would force the team to honour a contract he signed with the team in the middle of last year. Whilst van der Garde obtained a court order, complications surrounding his application for a Super license and ongoing wrangling with Sauber appears to have reached a conclusion, with van der Garde withdrawing his contempt of court order against the team in the run up to qualifying last weekend.

It now appears that both sides have reached an agreement to conclude their dispute, with the settlement believed to be €15 million. This is a very large sum for the already cash strapped Sauber team to pay out, although this would cover the money van der Garde gave to the team last year alongside further financial aid for not providing a car for him when he has a valid contract.

It now seems this saga will come to an end, with neither side coming out of it smelling of roses, although van der Garde will not have been happy to give up a Sauber seat he felt was his,€15 million Euro's will be nice compensation. For Sauber this good news comes on the back of an impressive opening race in Australia, with rookie Felipe Nasr coming home a very impressive 5th and Marcus Ericsson finishing 8th. Sauber will now be hoping to carry on this good start to the season in the Malaysian Grand Prix next weekend.

What are your thoughts on this news? Please feel free to comment below.

 

[Smartbean]

To keep it short: let's hope the banks are not playing ball and the Sauber's Credit Suisse account or Banco do Brasil account come up with a "Computer says no!" response, so we'll see GvdG on the grid in Malaysia

 

[Thomas Hinss]

Well personally I think it's a good thing that it's finally over regardless of the result. The more it carried on, the more Sauber had attention, personnel and money away from developing and improving the car.

I do like how while all that was happening Nasr just kept doing his thing in the background and look at where it got him, mighty impressive debut for him.

 

[RichardHessels]

I can imagine if you brought so many millions and have a valid contract that you get a little more credit from your team. How much the other 2 pay drivers are bringing in than.

 

[Derpy]

Paying for a seat in motorsports is stupid as it is, We don't get to see what talent really is out there. Pretty sure a few guys here can drive a heck of alot better than Pastor Maldanado but hey.... how many of you guys have £10m+ in the bank for a seat... for 1 season mind

 

[Nox]

I agree paying for a seat is silly, but with the costs involved in running in F1, and the poor uneven distribution of 'prize' money, some teams just don't have a choice if they want to survive. This whole court case was a symptom of a much larger problem. Some teams are desperate to survive. Not justifying what Sauber did at all, and well done Giedo for making his point, but I certainly can understand why they did it.