Advertisement

Sauber to defend van der Garde's drive demand in court

MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Sauber have confirmed they will contest legal action brought by dumped Dutch driver Giedo van der Garde in an Australian court ahead of the season-opening Formula One Grand Prix next week. Van der Garde was test driver for the Swiss team last seasonand is claiming Sauber reneged on a deal to give him a race seat in 2015. Sauber said in a statement on Friday that a Swiss arbitration tribunal had ordered the team "to refrain from taking action" to deprive Van der Garde from taking part in the 2015 season as one of the team's two nominated race drivers. The 29-year-old driver has brought an application to a Victoria court to enforce the tribunal's decision, which would be heard on Monday and "defended by Sauber", the team said. "As this matter is currently before the courts it would be inappropriate for me to comment on specific details," Team Principal Monisha Kaltenborn said. "However, we will take all necessary steps to protect our company, this team and its interests. "Last year was a challenging time for us but going into the 2015 season we have been focused on putting steps in place to ensure that we are delivering the best outcomes for F1's fans." Sauber, who failed to score a point last season, have signed Sweden's Marcus Ericsson and Brazilian Felipe Nasr as their race drivers, with Italian Raffaele Marciello as reserve for 2015. First practice for the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne starts on Friday, March 13. (Writing by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Patrick Johnston)