Just out…
The Sauber F1 Team can confirm it has been able to agree with Mr. Giedo Van der Garde that he refrains from driving in the Australian Formula One Grand Prix so it can keep its original planning. The Sauber F1 Team, Mr. Van der Garde and his management will continue to have constructive talks in order to find a mutually acceptable solution. The Sauber F1 Team is here to race in the Australian Formula One Grand Prix and that is what the team is now focusing on. In the course of next week we will be able to give more information.
joeblogsf1 
I will believe this when I see the “constructive talks” actually taking place. I fear that Sauber is only buying time so that their equipment and Ms Kaltenborn can clear Australian airspace without either being seized. Once out of the legal grips of the Australian justice system, what’s to stop them from continuing to obstruct? Would Malaysian justice system act on decision of Australian court? Would Giedo have to go through this all over, once more? I believe there is more to come before this sad affair is put to rest.
Very thoughtful of all parties involved to come into town and boost the local economy.
A deal done then.
I very much doubt it.
Blimey. Precisely what was achieved out of all this, other than lawyers getting paid?
Sauber got exposed as being incapable of properly arranging their contractual obligations.
Van Der Garde retains his reputation as being sue-happy, and effectively ended his F1 carreer right there. I am glad he realized that putting 300 people out of work is not a solution though. He did well in that effect. I respect that.
There are no winners. I think some of Sauber’s upper management might want to resign though. That would be good for the team’s credibilty.
I just saw reports that Sauber will be paying VdGarde 15 million USD! That is not just going to settle some bills. Wouldn’t be surprised if it helps him into the Manor car, and gets Manor to actually run their cars on track!
Manor is not interested
Hi Joe why would Manor not be interested VDG is a decent driver with backing I would say he fits the bill or at least can pay it..
No, I do not believe so
G’day Joe, Thanks very much for your chat last night a real privilege to hear your candid take on the goings on in F1. I’m very glad I finally got there. I recommend the chat to others and I’ll be there next year.
Good to hear, certainly makes the most sense (only sensible thing to do really at this point). I hope the outcome to be somewhat positive in that it won’t mean losing the team!
So.. Did Mr E get in the middle here?
Hope GvdG can bring his McGregor bagatelle down to Manor Marussia for the other seat there
V
+1
Irrespective of what has happened, or why it has happened, I am happy to see two Saubers on track.
I don’t want to buy into the greater discussion as I haven’t read the contracts, would probably not understand their supporting documentation or precedents that applied to whatever laws were involved.
In general I’ve always admired Peter Sauber, and the racing heritage he has built and overseen. To win outright at LeMans is a great achievement. That he fulfilled these dream and then founded an F1 team is pretty awesome. I believe that even when in receipt of Ferrari engines, Peter voted independently on matters of governance. I regard Sauber in a similar way to Williams. Two engineering and racing entities built by honest enthusiastic racing personalities, true inheritors of the F1 heritage from earlier times.
So, I am happy to see Sauber on track. I do believe a contract is a contract and should be honoured, I do believe 300 (or 200, or 100) people retaining their jobs, and F1 retaining the Sauber team, is a good thing. I don’t understand the intricacies or complexities of the situation to cast either side as villian or victim. I do care, and I do care for people who lose due to contract breaches, but as I say from where I sit I don’t have enough information to know anything for sure.
Having said that I’m tired of being expected to feel sorry for people throwing around ridiculous amounts of money, whether that be drivers, team owners, or the sports masters. F1 has become a plaything for the rich, my investment in watching them throw their toys (and the hard workers who keep these toys functioning) around is waning.
Excellent comment – lets just get on with some racing!
Very well put, Adam
Indeed. That is exactly how I feel about all this sorry spectacle.
Does this make anyone look any better though?
And I don’t mean you, Joe, hinting you had a inside track so heavily as you did.
The fact is that unless a lot more becomes known, van der Guarde had a sound legal position and Sauber management don’t look like they’ve clean hands.
Doesn’t it come down to the timing and any wild card the FIA or others in capacities bearing benefit of doubt because of possibly reasonable safety concerns?
I think I said I expected Guarde would not drive from my earlies comments.
Just we don’t know how this went at least not now.
I think it was totally wrong I mean what Sauber management did, as equally as I never imagined Guarde could drive this weekend…Maybe ever again.
But I never did like the prospects of the play unfolding. It’s been rotten with no beneficiaries I can tell.
Maybe this really is the unwinnable case
And maybe powers were brought so strongly that we can’t really store much in any change of heart this driver and his mercenary but clearly efficacious legal team might have had.
Who wants this around any sport?
It’s just I can’t be persuaded any way now that Sauber management were playing fair all the way.
It’s no good to say they were good old boys and did what they had to to shore up the team. I reckon they could have avoided this long ago.
The damage done is done. Maybe that’s why Guarde stopped. I didn’t discard conspiracy if meant to gain lots more but when I thought that through I never found logic for it.
So maybe he felt job was done. I certainly think a statement was made. And it looked like a foregone conclusion. Which was best to be avoided indeed.
It’s still not a road to Damascus moment of mercy nor a full stand down and not a win for anyone at all.
I don’t think good guys get into Courts to hurt others no matter what was done to them. No eye for a eye. this all got as close to pain as anything can get.
Only will he walk away now the point is made?
The point is very well made.
Even if might walk away completely and gain something for himself. He does have something not many get: vindication.
He’ll not lack for anyone to help him forget it all!
It’s too early for any conclusion but lots of legal options still exist..
Possibly even a drive still..
What will be most interesting is how this finally gets some spin from the parties when they can speak…might be a while but rather than have court silence I think everyone Appreciates how much value is there in talking openly again to fans and public. Eventually any driver unable to speak because of a court case will be lost from his fans. And the team badly need to start repairing their reputation now and starting now.
in that way they have common interests clearly.
There’s so much that has been learned here for would be driver managers also. Not to mention sponsors and analysts.
Add I don’t think the exploration has ended already. I think there’s more to learn from this.
End of a long and generally uncool day already all I can say is this showed up too much that’s clearly too tricky to fix amicably far beyond a contract for a drive. And it will not be easy to dispel the idea that the powers that be intervened and wielded power over a court case with improper influence and even in a way they truly should not have influenced. That may be the impression far longer than any other. But let’s see. I do expect this to carry on. Maybe it will be more thoroughly covered. Maybe it was too easy a story and nobody will do the work. What fun!
Take care Joe. I’m starting a franchise for dark chill out rooms but I’ve got concessions available if you need! What other damage this has done I don’t want to count. All my best as always^j
It seems Sauber took around 8mil Euros from Giedo and his sponsors. So they will have to give that back and more or give him Friday outings.
I am not surprised by this outcome, because if Sauber would’ve let Giedo drive, then the driver that Giedo would replace, would do the same as Giedo, sue Sauber and they would be in the same situation again.
But I will be surprised if someone right at the top of Sauber’s management is not going to be fired. This is a proper cock-up which should’ve never hapened.
Look’s like he’s finally realised that yes he can get in the car for Melbourne, but there won’t be a team left by Malaysia.
F1 used to be about opposite lock, racing and racing drivers, now it’s about law, lawyers, and celeb culture
I wonder if Van de Garde was railroaded by powers-that-be to agree to an expedient accommodation? The prospect of “constructive talks in order to find a mutually acceptable solution” does’t seem to quite fit with Van de Garde’s apparent vehemence to bring matters to the brink. Perhaps we shall see.
Anyway, whatever the rights and wrongs of this sorry mess, it’s good to have Sauber racing tomorrow.
Let’s hope for a really entertaining season-opener.
If what happens now could have stopped this farce before it started, then how should we regard the Sauber team principal?
as a pay T.P. messing about her pay drivers, or a talent doing a good job in a difficult situation, or an unlikely anomalous female who somehow found her feet in professional motorsport?
Joe knows much more and can answer with confidence.
All I know is, Felipe Nasr is too good to be regarded as a pay driver.
If I was him I wouldn’t have backed down. He has a valid contract. I would have enforced the judgment, bailiffs and all. Stuff them. If they think that they can take 8,000,000 euros and then refuse to give it back they are wrong. There is no excuse. “They were in a tight spot” bla bla bla. So was a man who robbed the post office. I don’t give a dam. I have no time for people like that awful PR Woman who Sauber miskenly have the reins to. If you can’t afford it, don’t do it. That’s why I drive an old clapped out BMW and not a brand new one. That’s why I race a clapped out old formula ford and not a new one……… She needs the chop pronto. A qualified lawer! Ha! Arrogance. Half the guys I work with (insurance claims department) could have done a better job of all that. Its not as complicated as they like to make you believe.
I had always thought a contempt of court action was under the control of the court, but apparently Giedo and co have withdrawn it.
One has to wonder at the original purpose of the whole action, if Giedo knew that he did not have a superlicence (it is hard to imagine that he did not know) and could not drive apart from testing, then the purpose could not have been to drive. So maybe it was just a means of expressing anger, available only to the rich.
Just an aside, but can anyone explain to me why the thought of Merc winning 20 rounds this year or whatever number there is in 2015, is in anyway better than the dominance of Schuey/Ferrari from 2000-2005 or Vettel/RedBull from 2010-2014?
Yes yes, I know we are going to have a fabulous contest between Hammy & Rosberg….yawn, yawn….but really? Come on, the FIA just as well give Hammy the trophy now ( if he’s interested in it ), and we can all move onto 2016, when the Mercs might be only 0.75/1.00 secs per lap quicker, rather than 1.7/2.0 secs per lap as they are now……how anyone can defend the competitive state of F1 is totally beyond me as a purist racing fan….And, how does Hammy’s 3rd title stack up when he is driving a car which is overwhelmingly superior to the rest. Again, Schuey & Vettel were knocked incessantly for being only capable of winning because they had car superiority. …isn’t this situation exactly the same? And before anyone says well Merc didn’t use team orders last year, please look back and just analyse how Rosberg drove in the races after Spa, totally sparkless when viewed against his early season form. In over 30 years of watching Grand Prix on the BBC, this will be the first time ever, that I won’t even bother with the highlights…i’ll just catch the results on Monday on the internet, and that will likely be my regular position this year, and next, and maybe in 2017 as well. F1 has lost another rabid enthusiast. Just to round up, if Hammy don’t win and Rosberg does, it’s just the same for me, as even Maldonado could be WCD in a Merc, so what price can I put on Rosberg winning the title, zilch as he won’t have had to strive for it.
Schumi didn’t have a dominant car in 94′,95′ or 05′ fyi…
“Dominent” in the Mercedes sense of the word.
I seem to recall a blinding fight between Hakkinen and Schumi in the early 00’s also…
Have to disagree over 94 & 95, as the Benetton did have superiority over the Williams who were next best, and the mystery ” programme 13 ” was a big advantage for Schumi. Not knocking Benetton or Michael, I expect there is probably some trick to the Mercs that no one has foind out as yet. There is always some little hidden item that provides a performance advantage in any dominant competitor in motorsport, always has been.
I don’t like the crushing superiority and yawn factor either but Honda in particular may yet sort this out in time to make the 2nd half a lot closer – here’s hoping
The other day I wrote that the out come of this was a long play for ownership of the team by Guidos father in law and you didn’t post it whys that?
I guess I did not get it. I post anything that does not break blog rules.
Err ahem then some explanation is maybe needed!
Nope. I have other things that more important to do.
Do you think the three guys would share the drives, e.g. Giedo would race in Europe and Felipe beyond?
No
I am certainly glad Sauber are able to race this weekend. It should be noted that VdG says he has given up his right to race in Australia – but he has made no such claim about the remainder of the season, and the Judge’s ruling very clearly was for the entire 2015 season.
To be honest though he’s proved a point and got a team to the stage where they faced their assets being impounded and their team principal thrown in jail. This has now sent the very clear message out to teams that you can’t just disregard driver contracts because it financially suits you – and alerted them to the very extreme consequences which could arise from doing so.
Hopefully this will dissuade Sauber and indeed any other team from pulling a stunt such as this again.
I think what VdG has done is very worthwhile if only for that.
But he’s also shown to be tolerant and reasonable and ultimately has not jeopardized the team’s race weekend, when it was certainly within his power to do so. I think that should play in his favor if he has to negotiate with other teams in the future.
As to where the negotiations go from here we’ll have to see. I am hoping VdG made the stipulation that Sauber sort the contract recognition and superlicense pronto as part of the agreement to give up his right to race this weekend, so everything is poised for his racing in Malaysia if that’s where things go.
It is settled
If that is the case the only way I can see it’s happened is either FN or ME’s sponsors have paid off GVdG. Other than that there will be some more court reporting next week.
Joe – other news outlets seem to be reporting that it was only the Contempt of Court action that he dropped, ‘allowing’ Sauber to race in Aus with no fear of any legal issues.
Obviously you’re better placed than most to know the facts – have any been revealed?
Joe – can I please ask what you mean by “settled”? Talks are still ongoing last I had heard. VdG has a supreme court judgement ruling he has the right to race for the entire 2015 season.
Agreeing not to race in Australia (when physically he could not anyway owing to Sauber’s failure to process his contract and superlicense paperwork) isn’t really “settled” since from the best I can make out from what has been made public – he has made no such promise for the remainder of the season.
Also Joe, owing to Nasr’s dazzling performance in Australia is it reasonable to say that a driver can be a pay driver AND be a good/great driver – the two are not mutually exclusive? š
I would hope the fact that VdG has strong financial backing shouldn’t effect how people judge his racing.
Wayne.
As I understand it, a deal is done. Pay drivers can be good drivers. Giedo is a very decent driver.
Very decent drivers don’t cut it in F1. Was he good enough for F1? I didn’t reckon he was but I’m no expert.
I have to agree with all the points Wayne makes here.
I would not be surprised at all to see vdg in a Sauber sometime this season, at the minimum in Friday practice sessions, but more likely in a race.
It will not happen
Where is the FIA on this? Surely they can sort it out. It doesnt sound like Sauber have any legal ground to stand on.
The FIA may be short handed just now given their focus on this….. https://formerf1doc.wordpress.com/
Good question. More specifically, what has happened to the FIA Contract Recognition Board (if it still exists and if it ever had any impact and thus made any sense at all)?
Where is the FIA full stop?
They played a big role in this, by behind the scenes. The only person playing in the spotlight was VDG
Joe I’m so grateful for your blog…but you’ve previously – and rightly – criticised the fact of this being the headline story at the first race of the new season – whilst perpetuating the same by way of your last 3 posts
What am I supposed to do? Ignore it.
Well you know, this story is relatively new and interesting. What else is there to write about? Christian Horner being a big cry baby because his team and engine supplier can’t do a good job again? Mercedes dominating? McLaren’s perpetual shambles? We’ve heard all of these from last year really. Least GVdG has given us something new.
Incidentally Joe, is it right that Van De Garde had paid for the drive and hasn’t been refunded? I got confused by the various he-paid/he-paid.
Sauber.
The car stands out for lack of sponsorship.
They perhaps managed more publicity than any other team in the lead up to the race. Arguments over drivers and contracts. Many will say that this was negative publicity, nonetheless their brand was higher in the public consciousness than it usually is at the first race of the season.
They then get two cars in the top ten, including a rookie drive to 5th beating Red Bull in the process. For a lot of punters the result will probably justify their decisions. To be fair we will never know for sure as VdG didn’t get the chance to race this weekend, but the result for Nasr was strong enough the least you could say was that Nasr was a suitable pick.
Did I read someone or some people questioning the value of having Sauber, teams like Sauber in the Championship?
Would F1, the 2015 World Championship, or the Australian GP have been as good without Saubers participation this weekend?
And so it is confirmed by GvdG on his facebook page.
The point now is how Sauber is going to repay VDG.
I am sure it is sorted out
Another ‘shabby’ demonstration of how F1 employment works! The weak get dumped on! What a great advert for F1.
It appears VdG had a perfectly sound agreement – hence the settlement.
Yes, Lawyers have benfitted but would he have got ANY settlement without going down a legal route?
He certainly got more than the 40 plus staff who were uncermeoniously off loaded by Caterham without a penny.
With Catetrham collapsing, surely it drops back into Fernandez’s lap. I do hope the guys and girls are pursuing this through legal channels.
Be intersting to know if he is being pursued – one can only hope!
MD
Initially, I had no sympathy for VDG… but then I learned that he paid Sauber a large pile of reserve-driver cash last year in order to guarantee him the right to pay them another pile of cash this year so he could race-drive… if so, if the deal was 2 years of cash for 1 year of racing, then I think he had a sound point. I don’t know how much he paid them last year, but it seems only fair that he would get that amount back, plus some more on top of that to compensate him for Sauber breaking the deal.
I’m not suggesting that Sauber should have gone belly up rather than use other drivers who bring more cash… I understand that Sauber needed to survive… but I am saying that I respect VDG’s stance more than I did earlier…