Formula One driver Giedo van der Garde yesterday said he would give up his right to compete in the Australian Grand Prix, ending a legal saga which threatened to overshadow the season-opening race.
“With respect to the interest of motorsport, and F1 in particular, I have decided to give up my legal rights to race this weekend at the Melbourne Grand Prix,” the Dutch driver said on his Facebook page.
“As I am a passionate race driver, this decision has been very difficult for me,” he wrote, while a Victorian state court confirmed the Australian legal battle had ended.
Former reserve driver Van der Garde took the case to court after claiming he was guaranteed a seat for the 2015 season by Sauber last year, but they reneged on the deal.
Instead, the Swiss outfit had opted for heavily sponsored drivers Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson.
Van der Garde originally took his case to a Swiss arbitration tribunal, which ordered Sauber to keep him on the team. A Victoria Supreme Court ruling backed that decision on Wednesday, enforcing it in Australia.
Sauber appealed the ruling, but lost, and the outfit faced a potential contempt of court action if they failed to agree to the Australian court’s decision.
In the Victorian Supreme Court yesterday, it was revealed that legal teams for the two sides had continued discussions through the night, before coming to an acceptable arrangement.
“My management will continue talks with Sauber early next week to find a mutually acceptable solution for the current situation that has now arisen,” Van der Garde said.
Ericsson and Nasr were both listed on the boards as Sauber’s drivers on Friday.
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