A verdict in the case of Giedo van der Garde versus Sauber has been delayed until Wednesday by Australia’s Supreme Court of Victoria.
The Dutch driver is trying to force the Swiss team to hand him a race seat for the 2015 season after they reportedly broke a contract which gave him the right to one of the two seats.
Sauber insist that they were within their rights to sign two different drivers in rookie Felipe Nasr and former Caterham driver Marcus Ercisson.
Both are bringing more money in sponsorship than Van der Garde could offer, which is likely the major motivating factor behind the teams decision.
The case was heard on Monday morning at the Supreme Court. Van der Garde appeared in person, whilst Sauber was represented by its lawyer, Rodney Garratt QC.
Sauber argued that putting Van der Garde in the car for the opening race would have huge safety implications as he has yet to test the new car.
“Sauber could not allow him to race… it would be reckless and dangerous to do otherwise. It would result in an unacceptable risk of physical harm or even death.”
However the Dutch driver’s lawyer argued that that simply wasn’t true and it has happened on several occasions in the past, whilst substituting either of its current drivers wouldn’t break those contracts.
“Teams are very flexible to make adjustments for every specific driver,” said his lawyer, Tom Clarke.
“Sauber does have the ability to substitute Mr Van der Garde this weekend for one or another driver without falling into breach of those existing contracts,” he explained.
The verdict is due at 10am (local time) Wednesday, just two days before Friday free practice kicks off.
Discussion about this post