Another F1 team is "feared to be on the verge of collapse after Sauber lost an unprecedented legal dispute over a ditched driver just 48 hours before the start of the new season," according to Daniel Johnson of the London TELEGRAPH. A court in Melbourne "ruled against the cash-strapped outfit, ordering Sauber to put Giedo van der Garde on the grid for Sunday's Australian Grand Prix." The Dutchman successfully argued the team "reneged on his contract to race this year in an extraordinary legal row," even by F1's "colourful standards." Sauber now faces an "impossible choice." Should it obey the order and reinstate Van der Garde, dropping one of Felipe Nasr or Marcus Ericsson, the team will break its contracts and "risk losing vital sponsorship." Nasr is "thought to bring" around £12M ($17.9M) from Banco do Brasil, while Ericsson, from Sweden, has £10M ($14.9M) of backing. The ensuing legal costs "may also be enough to force the Swiss-based team into bankruptcy" after more than 20 years in F1 (TELEGRAPH, 3/11). FOX SPORTS reported the legal dispute "will reach a resolution on the eve of opening practice." After assessing its options, the Sauber team "elected to appeal the decision, with the hearing set to occur at 3:15pm on Wednesday afternoon." After hearing arguments presented by both parties, the court gave Sauber "leave to appeal." Sauber has argued Van der Garde would be an "unacceptable death risk on the track, given he has not tested the team's 2015 car and has not been fitted for a custom seat" (FOX SPORTS, 3/11). The BBC reported Sauber Team Principal Monisha Kaltenborn said, "What we cannot do is jeopardize 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. 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" (BBC, 3/11).
