Sauber respond to Van Der Garde legal action

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After the news yesterday that jilted former Sauber reserve driver Giedo Van Der Garde was activating legal action against the Sauber team, demanding the team honor an agreement they both reached last year for Van Der Garde to drive for the team in F1 this year. Sauber have now responded to the legal challenge from Van Der Garde.

Sauber have vowed to "take all the necessary steps to protect" their interests against Van Der Garde. It appears both sided reached an agreement in the middle of last year for Van Der Garde to be promoted from last season's reserve driver role to a full race seat this year, although whether a contract was ever agreed or signed is not known.

The team suffered severe budget issues last year and it appears the team then went back on this promise and instead signed two drivers who can bring a significant budget to the team in the Swede Marcus Ericsson and Brazilian rookie Felipe Nasr.

The Dutchman has launched this last minute attempt to reclaim his seat through the courts, with an initial Swiss arbitration tribunal has ordered the team to allow Van Der Garde to race at the opening Australian Grand Prix next weekend.

Sauber themselves released a statement giving an overview of the ruling from the Swiss tribunal. They stated "In a first partial award of a Swiss arbitral tribunal, the application of Mr van der Garde was upheld, with the tribunal relevantly ordering Sauber to refrain from taking action the effect of which would be to deprive Giedo [sic] van der Garde of his entitlement to participate in the 2015 Formula One season as one of Sauber’s two nominated race drivers."

Van Der Garde has also taken his case to the Supreme Court in Victoria, where the case will be heard this coming Monday. Sauber have announced their intention to fight this case in the courts, and this will be a very unwelcome distraction for the Sauber team as they attempt to prepare for the start of the 2015 season.

What are your thoughts on this developing story? Please feel free to comment below.
 
They thought they could make it with one pay driver, but they actually needed two. The current state of Formula One seems to warrant this. Now they will get into even more trouble and van der Garde won't get a good opportunity either, regardless of legal outcome.
The pinnacle of motorsport.
 
>>> Giedo <<< is a pay driver to, his sponsor brings in roughly between 10 and 15 million as far as I know. He is just unlucky that Nasr managed to bring in even more money with Banco do Brasil, another year testing obviously wasn't in the planning for Giedo.

Actually I think he is doing this to try and settle a arrangement to get some extra funding in order to get into the 2nd Manor seat. I just think its a dead end at Sauber, Kaltenborn has been a laywer or studied for it or something along that line so I am pretty sure she knows what she is doing even when it is balancing on a thin wire.:D

Its not the first time this is happening, it has happened before quite a few times. Back in 2002 it was Frentzen who took over Jos Verstappen's seat at Arrows whilst The Boss had a signed contract with Arrows.

People do crazy stuff when in need of money.:rolleyes:
 
Yeah it's crazy this is the pinnacle of motorsport and what it's come to with Manor scraping to get back on the grid and Force India almost folding during the winter something needs to change with the financial structure soon. VDG could be a good shout for the second Manor drive he could bring plenty of ££ to the team it depends how desperate he is to get onto the F1 grid by taking the drive.
 
>>> Giedo <<< is a pay driver to, his sponsor brings in roughly between 10 and 15 million as far as I know. He is just unlucky that Nasr managed to bring in even more money with Banco do Brasil, another year testing obviously wasn't in the planning for Giedo.

Actually I think he is doing this to try and settle a arrangement to get some extra funding in order to get into the 2nd Manor seat. I just think its a dead end at Sauber, Kaltenborn has been a laywer or studied for it or something along that line so I am pretty sure she knows what she is doing even when it is balancing on a thin wire.:D

Its not the first time this is happening, it has happened before quite a few times. Back in 2002 it was Frentzen who took over Jos Verstappen's seat at Arrows whilst The Boss had a signed contract with Arrows.

People do crazy stuff when in need of money.:rolleyes:

This is really eye opening. I had no idea F1 was in such a state of turmoil. How can you claim to be the pinnacle of motorsport when you are not free to pick the best drivers? I'm not trying to be smart, because I love F1, but didn't realize it went this deep.
 
Is that a statement? Most of the professional drivers I have known over the years want to win, not get to F1 and be laughed at. Where is someone like Nigel Mansell when you need him!!??

It's all about the prestige to the name. Guido will never struggle for money, none of these rich-boy pay drivers will. He doesn't care about winning in other series, he'd rather be a backmarker worth nothing in F1. It's not as if there is anything to lose in this approach. Daddy's already got him set for life. All it comes down to is being able to tell the girls in the night club ''I'm an F1 driver''

I like Guido, he seems a nice guy...But thats still the reality of his situation. Why should he care if he's a winner in a sports or Indy Car? He already won at life when he was born in to money.
 
Is that a statement? Most of the professional drivers I have known over the years want to win, not get to F1 and be laughed at. Where is someone like Nigel Mansell when you need him!!??

It's all about the prestige to the name. Guido will never struggle for money, none of these rich-boy pay drivers will. He doesn't care about winning in other series, he'd rather be a backmarker worth nothing in F1. All it comes down to is being able to tell the girls in the night club ''I'm an F1 driver''

More directed to the fact that he in June 2014 had a contract with Sauber for racing in 2015 - there was no need to try to find another seat. November came, he was suddenly "out" - he went to CAS, got a ruling that stated that he was one of the drivers, but Sauber never followed up.
Time goes by, Sauber makes it clear that they have no intention of following the ruling, nor honoring vd Garde's contract - and we are at a point where there are no good seats in any higher series open anymore. Only backmarker-teams have spots open. Where should he go? To the Kolles LMP1-team? KCMG LMP2? Rebeillon LMP1? WTCC Privateer? Formula Acceleration 1?

Thing is, when you are at the time of a year, where the only place you'll be, is in a backmarker team, no matter where you turn - it's probably more interesting to be a backmarker in F1 instead of other places.

PS: Yes I know that Andretti have 1 (maybe 2) open spots in Indy, I'm just not sure that vd Garde would be able to bring enough sponsorship for a US-Only series. Unless he get's a good settlement from Sauber and want to race ovals...
 
It's all about the prestige to the name. Guido will never struggle for money, none of these rich-boy pay drivers will. He doesn't care about winning in other series, he'd rather be a backmarker worth nothing in F1. It's not as if there is anything to lose in this approach. Daddy's already got him set for life. All it comes down to is being able to tell the girls in the night club ''I'm an F1 driver''

I like Guido, he seems a nice guy...But thats still the reality of his situation. Why should he care if he's a winner in a sports or Indy Car? He already won at life when he was born in to money.

Good Example. Robert Dornbos. One of the most talented drivers I had the pleasure to watch. Never had any sponsors, but IndyCar, well, ChampCar I think, took him for a while and he nearly won the damn thing (3rd for the season). He was so smooth but so fast. I think he stepped in for Klein in the Red Bull car in 2006 and in the last three races had the same or close average finish that the regular driver did in a dog car.
 
More directed to the fact that he in June 2014 had a contract with Sauber for racing in 2015 - there was no need to try to find another seat. November came, he was suddenly "out" - he went to CAS, got a ruling that stated that he was one of the drivers, but Sauber never followed up.
Time goes by, Sauber makes it clear that they have no intention of following the ruling, nor honoring vd Garde's contract - and we are at a point where there are no good seats in any higher series open anymore. Only backmarker-teams have spots open. Where should he go? To the Kolles LMP1-team? KCMG LMP2? Rebeillon LMP1? WTCC Privateer? Formula Acceleration 1?

Thing is, when you are at the time of a year, where the only place you'll be, is in a backmarker team, no matter where you turn - it's probably more interesting to be a backmarker in F1 instead of other places.

PS: Yes I know that Andretti have 1 (maybe 2) open spots in Indy, I'm just not sure that vd Garde would be able to bring enough sponsorship for a US-Only series. Unless he get's a good settlement from Sauber and want to race ovals...

I doubt he can race ovals. Most of the F1 "talent" cannot. I think Chris' answer is closer to the truth. Shame the two sides of the Atlantic don't become a truly International Series. The closest we have is IndyCar in my opinion, since they test more than a driver's skill on a Tilke track and simply don't have the money to make exotic cars. Driver talent is not measured, in my opinion, on how fast you go. If that were true, we should all be bowing to airplane racing:
 
Exactly my point! :) (unless he actually get's that Sauber seat that is)



The same way that people that grows up on ovals, would not beat F1-drivers on a road course.

Many drivers, at least over here, do both. Tony Steward, Jeff Gordon, Any successful IndyCar Driver. They do it the hard way...they learn.

Answer me how Mansell won the IndyCar Series (arguably being the "pinnacle" at the time) with no oval experience? (and he had success on the ovals). I believe it was because he was an old school racer's racer. Kind of like Raikonnen. Doesn't limit himself to just one kind of car, even though Nigel didn't have much oval experience...he was one of those once in an era drivers. The only way to test that is to do it.
 
More directed to the fact that he in June 2014 had a contract with Sauber for racing in 2015 - there was no need to try to find another seat. November came, he was suddenly "out" - he went to CAS, got a ruling that stated that he was one of the drivers, but Sauber never followed up.
Time goes by, Sauber makes it clear that they have no intention of following the ruling, nor honoring vd Garde's contract - and we are at a point where there are no good seats in any higher series open anymore. Only backmarker-teams have spots open. Where should he go? To the Kolles LMP1-team? KCMG LMP2? Rebeillon LMP1? WTCC Privateer? Formula Acceleration 1?

Thing is, when you are at the time of a year, where the only place you'll be, is in a backmarker team, no matter where you turn - it's probably more interesting to be a backmarker in F1 instead of other places.

PS: Yes I know that Andretti have 1 (maybe 2) open spots in Indy, I'm just not sure that vd Garde would be able to bring enough sponsorship for a US-Only series. Unless he get's a good settlement from Sauber and want to race ovals...

Yes indeed. I suppose there is no good seats lefts. I'd rather be a backmarker in F1 than anywhere else as well.

I think Guido has the talent to do well in other series for 2016. Even if he does get an F1 seat this year no one will touch him after this (See Nick Heidfeld) so I hope he can go somewhere else and succeed.
 
I would imagine all this boils down to whether the arrangement originally made between Sauber and VDG can be proven as either a "contract" or just a "promise". If contractual arrangements can be proven, then it would stand as long as Sauber remain in effect the same business that agreed to it.
My view is that if nothing is documented and this was just a verbal commitment to VDG then Monica will have no difficulty in argueing that circumstances have changed and the future of the business depends on the financial commitment to it...
Good luck to Guido whatever happens, it will be interesting to see what happens here, especially if he gets the Sauber seat....ha
 
I would imagine all this boils down to whether the arrangement originally made between Sauber and VDG can be proven as either a "contract" or just a "promise". If contractual arrangements can be proven, then it would stand as long as Sauber remain in effect the same business that agreed to it.
My view is that if nothing is documented and this was just a verbal commitment to VDG then Monica will have no difficulty in argueing that circumstances have changed and the future of the business depends on the financial commitment to it...
Good luck to Guido whatever happens, it will be interesting to see what happens here, especially if he gets the Sauber seat....ha

But if it is a contract and he does get the seat, then who will be dropped? Nasr or Ericsson? And then surely they will sue.
 
I would imagine all this boils down to whether the arrangement originally made between Sauber and VDG can be proven as either a "contract" or just a "promise". If contractual arrangements can be proven, then it would stand as long as Sauber remain in effect the same business that agreed to it.
My view is that if nothing is documented and this was just a verbal commitment to VDG then Monica will have no difficulty in argueing that circumstances have changed and the future of the business depends on the financial commitment to it...
Good luck to Guido whatever happens, it will be interesting to see what happens here, especially if he gets the Sauber seat....ha

He went to Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne, it is a quasi-judical body and their decisions are actually binding - which I guess is why vd Garde have not given up.
So, CAS have found enough proof that vd Garde have contract to race for Sauber in 2015.
A verbal agreement is as binding - but harder to prove than a written.

But if it is a contract and he does get the seat, then who will be dropped? Nasr or Ericsson? And then surely they will sue.

Now, if vd Garde had a contract (and Sutil as well), then Nasr and Ericssons contract are invalid - as (afaik) Sauber cannot give a contract for a spot already filled, without getting the one in that spot out.
Now, it seems like they came to an agreement with Adrian Sutil as he is not in any dispute with the team. And if so, it would seem likely that the first driver being signed (apparently Ericsson) would have a seat while Nasr is out.
Based on with Sutil out, there is one spot left, which Ericsson got. While Nasr doesn't have a seat to be contracted to.

However, I have no legal education, it's just how I understand it.
 
I agree with Mark Aalberts. Monisha, as an ex-lawyer isn't going to put her team in financial jeopardy. If the race drive was a verbal agreement, it will be unlikely to hold much water. As someone once said, (B.T. Barnham?), a verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's written on.

Also, if Giedo does win in the Australian court, will that ruling be binding for the rest of the season, or will he have to go to court in every country where a race is held?
 
I agree with Mark Aalberts. Monisha, as an ex-lawyer isn't going to put her team in financial jeopardy. If the race drive was a verbal agreement, it will be unlikely to hold much water. As someone once said, (B.T. Barnham?), a verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's written on.

Also, if Giedo does win in the Australian court, will that ruling be binding for the rest of the season, or will he have to go to court in every country where a race is held?

After reading a bit more, it seems like there was something written and signed.

He would need to go to court in every single country... Unless (in case of a victory) Sauber give in and gives him the seat.
 

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