• Sauber

Van der Garde case continues, superlicence issue prevents drive

March 13, 2015 « Martin Whitmarsh appointed CEO of Ben Ainslie Racing | Vettel names first Ferrari 'Eva' »

Giedo van der Garde's dispute with Sauber is set to rumble on throughout Friday, although the Dutchman will not take part in any on-track action this weekend due to the absence of a superlicence.

Van der Garde took Sauber to court this week in Australia to demand it honours his race contract for 2015 and won his case on Wednesday. However, he will not have a renewed superlicence in time as it is now too late for the Contract Recognition Board (CRB) to confirm his contract is valid - a mandatory step for a superlicence to be approved.

The case was set to resume at 15:15 at the Supreme Court of Victoria, with Justice Croft set to decide whether Sauber is in contempt of court for not taking the necessary actions to ensure van der Garde could drive. However, an update from the Supreme Court said it would advise on a new start time at 15:15 after the parties sought more time. Van der Garde's lawyers are pushing for is the seizure of Sauber's assets in Albert Park - such as the cars - which would stop the team taking part this weekend.

Parties have sought more time in @GvanderGarde @SauberF1Team court case, will advise at 3:15 of new start time today.

— Supreme Court of Vic (@SCVSupremeCourt) March 13, 2015

On Friday morning van der Garde appeared in the paddock and went to the Sauber garage for a seat fitting while wearing Marcus Ericsson's overalls. However, it is believed this was purely Sauber fulfilling the demands of Wednesday's court decision and Ericsson and Felipe Nasr were both in the cars at the start of first practice.

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