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Van der Garde and Sauber reach agreement

NEWS STORY
18/03/2015

Giedo Van der Garde has issued a statement having reached an agreement with the Sauber F1 team.

It reads:

"We have reached a settlement with Sauber and my driver contract with the team has been ended by mutual consent.

As a passionate race driver, I feel sad and am very disappointed. I have worked very hard my entire career, ever since starting with go-karts at the age of eight, to live my dream and become a successful Formula One driver. I had hoped at last to be able to show what I am capable of, driving a car for a respected midfield team in the 2015 season. This dream has been taken away from me and I know that my future in Formula One is probably over.

I had a valid driver contract for the entire 2015 season and enforceable rights to it. I pushed very hard until last Saturday in Melbourne to get the drive that I was entitled to. This legal process started in 2014 and has taken a great deal of effort. It was never a last minute thing, but it only became public in the last week when we tried to force the team to accept the rulings of a succession of legal authorities and courts.

I am a race driver and all I want is to race. However, the team principal was adamant not to let me drive, notwithstanding my legal rights to do so and a series of rulings and court orders in my favour and despite my race driving abilities. I will never understand this. I could have persisted, but the team principal had taken a decision contrary to my contract that she would not work with me and this became painfully clear in the paddock in Melbourne. To push on against this determination might have brought down the team, it would most certainly have wrecked the opening Grand Prix in Melbourne because the team's cars would have been seized by the court, it may have ruined the careers of two young drivers Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr. Possibly the team's directors would even be taken into custody. I decided I did not want to live with that idea, even though it was only the team's management that was responsible for the bizarre situation I found myself in.

I am very grateful to my fans and many friends in Formula One who have given me a lot of support during the last couple of months. This period has been very difficult for me especially since I could not talk to anybody about the pending proceedings. Last week, many drivers on the grid gave me their support and several of them did so openly in the media as well. The same goes for several leading figures in the paddock who include team bosses and reputable former Formula One drivers. I thank them as well.

My future in motorsport has not finished: on the contrary, I see this as a new beginning. I will sit down with my management in the coming weeks to discuss my future plans. I would love to take part in the WEC and the Le Mans 24 Hours in an LMP1 car. Former Formula One drivers do very well in this series. We also have our eye on other series such as the DTM in 2016 and beyond.

There has been a lot of speculation in the media over the past week, so I want to set out clearly that my sponsors paid the sponsorship fee related to the 2015 season in its entirety to Sauber in the first half of 2014. This was simply in good faith and to help the team deal with its cash problems at the time. Effectively, it was my sponsor's advanced payments that helped the team survive in 2014.

Sauber's financial decision-making in this case is bizarre and makes no sense to me. I am not at liberty to discuss details, but Sauber paid significant compensation to avoid honouring the contract they had with me. Only in that respect can I be satisfied that my rights have finally been recognised and that at least some justice has been done.

I want to thank McGregor for sponsoring me from the time I won the Formula Renault 3.5 Ltr. Series in 2008. I hope we can continue to build on this as my motorsport career goes forward in other series.

I want to thank my family, my father Gerrit and my wife Denise in particular, for their tireless support throughout the years that I have been chasing my Formula One dream. The last couple of months have been especially hard for me but they have always stood by me. Of course, I also want to thank my father-in-law, Marcel Boekhoorn, who has been a great supporter during my entire career through the motorsport ranks. Without him, I would not have got this far.

I also thank Jeroen Schothorst and Jan Paul ten Hoopen for managing my career and business affairs since 2008 and in particular for their unconditional support during these last four and a half months. I also extend thanks to my legal advisor Gijs Rooijens and the law firms, Druces, Blackstone Chambers and King & Wood Mallesons (Australia), that worked very hard and enthusiastically - sometimes literally day and night and during weekends - to fight for my rights.

Finally, I would like to direct a few words to the teams, drivers, future drivers, their managers and the Formula One governing bodies. I sincerely hope that what has happened to me will start a movement aimed at setting new standards and bringing about new regulations to help protect the rights of drivers. I would like to think that the values and business ethics that apply in any other business should be equally applicable in Formula One. I am lucky to have had Marcel and Jeroen on my side. Both of them have extensive backgrounds in business and bring a lot of expertise to the table when it comes to resolving complicated business affairs. Without them, I would have remained empty-handed in the wake of this extraordinary affair.

There are numerous examples of talented drivers with good intentions but without the sort of professional support that I have had, who have been broken by Formula One and who have seen their careers destroyed. I therefore hope that my unprecedented case which was heard last week by the Supreme Court of Victoria at Melbourne will serve as an example to illustrate what should change, and that new regulations will be implemented to help protect driver rights."

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READERS COMMENTS

 

1. Posted by imejl99, 19/03/2015 15:21

""Pay driver" game raised to new level. It was a dispute waiting arround the corner.

For Giedo, respect for the integrity at his own expense, but he should have know the game, someone paid more. If I was a employer, I would think twice what I can expect from him after all of this, and I am afraid for his career from now on. For Sauber, Peter needs to do something soon."

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2. Posted by BWesty, 19/03/2015 6:04

"Hats off to you Guido, you took the high ground in the end, and I know it's of scant consolation to you right now but you can claim a moral victory in a sport where morals seem to be seriously lacking amongst the leadership.
The trend of money coming before people and before the sport has made it a very toxic environment for a young man or woman to cut their teeth in. You have made a point and I truly hope the rest of the F1 Teams and Management take note. I hope you still have a future in F1. good luck young man. "

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3. Posted by C5, 18/03/2015 18:24

"I used to support Sauber. Definitely no more. I kept hoping Guido would stand his ground and take that scam operation down and send Kaltenborn behind bars if they didn't put forward an acceptable alternative.

Like buying a seat in another team or paying back double or triple whatever his sponsors put into the team in the past - neither of which they can likely afford, in which case they should be sent packing.

Peter Sauber said that without Kaltenborn he would not have bought back Sauber from BMW six years ago. Well, Peter, if doing business this way is part of staying afloat I'd say you should just have let the team die.

Good luck Guido, you're obviously a better man than those you have had to deal with lately."

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4. Posted by Martin B, 18/03/2015 17:31

"If only Guido's legal team could have pushed through the same settlement of 'whatever' and been allowed to make it public - that sends a greater message!"

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5. Posted by kiwi2wheels, 18/03/2015 14:58

"Sorry Giedo, this was NOT the time to be Mr Nice Guy and a gentleman. That ***** used you as a cash cow and then stabbed you in the back. It would have been very fitting if the so called " principal " had been taken into custody ; that would have sent a message that contracts are legal and binding and the will to race trumps all. BCE would have made sure that two cars made the grid, by hook or by crook, an apt expression if ever there was one !

The other two drivers won't remember your sacrifice.

I hope your career recovers and you can attain your goals, but opportunities are thin on the ground."

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6. Posted by PeterMann, 18/03/2015 12:57

"I somehow doubt if Peter Sauber would have let this happen.

Well done Giedo for sticking up for your rights - and producing an excellent, no frills resume of what happened; perhaps you could start writing for Pitpass!"

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7. Posted by stackvideo, 18/03/2015 11:58

"Me thinks that either BE or the FIA (or maybe even both) played a hand in Van der Garde's decision to end legal proceedings against Sauber. "

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8. Posted by SideGlance, 18/03/2015 10:28

"I think the settlement should have included the ousting of the Team Principle, lawyer or NOT. She apparently does not either remember contract law or does not give a damn & only had him as a piggy bank for last year, as it seems Sauber has now done this sort of thing to 2 diff drivers - will be interesting to see what Adrian Sutil gets/does and that fight."

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9. Posted by fatlass123, 18/03/2015 10:27

"A rare thing, even more rare in Formula 1. A true Gentleman!"

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10. Posted by Ro, 18/03/2015 9:26

"I take my hat off to you Giedo and I am impressed with your behaviour throughout this case and I truly hope that your F1 career isnt over. "

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