The Sauber Formula 1 Team has launched an appeal against a ruling handed down by the Supreme Court of Victoria which forces them to run Giedo van der Garde this weekend.
The verdict, the result of a legal battle between the two parties, relates to the entire 2015 F1 season according to the court, meaning Sauber would be required to drop either Marcus Ericsson or Felipe Nasr in order to give Van der Garde a race seat.
Sauber admitted disappointment at the ruling with team principal Monisha Kaltenborn insisting that it would be unsafe to run a driver who’s yet to even sit in the Sauber C34.
“We are disappointed with this decision and now need to take time to understand what it means and the impact it will have on the start of our season,” she said.
“What we cannot do is jeopardise the safety of our team, or any other driver on the track, by having an unprepared driver in a car that has now been tailored to two other assigned drivers.”
It has been confirmed that the Swiss team has applied for an appeal which has been accepted by the court and will be heard on Thursday morning.
A final verdict won’t be due until the afternoon as Van der Garde’s lawyer has been granted two hours to state his case, those representing Ericsson and Nasr have half an hour each, and Sauber one and a half hours.
If the verdict is upheld, Sauber will be find themselves in a difficult situation as running the 29-year-old will mean dropping one of its current drivers, both of which bring substantial financial backing.
Ericsson and Nasr may then choose to take legal action themselves.
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