Sauber compensates Giedo van der Garde to terminate his contract

As he indicated when announcing his withdrawal for the Australian Grand Prix, Giedo van der Garde decided to communicate on the subject via his Facebook page. He acknowledges that his F1 career is now behind him due to the bad publicity surrounding this affair: « We have reached an agreement with Sauber and my driver contract with the team was terminated by mutual consent. As a passionate racing driver, I am truly sad and disappointed. I have worked throughout my career, since I started karting at eight years old, to achieve my dream of becoming a Formula 1 driver. I had hoped to at least show what I’m capable of behind the wheel of a respected mid-field team car during the 2015 season. This dream has been stolen from me, and I know that my future in Formula 1 is probably over. »

However, the driver decided not to keep quiet about his grievances against the Sauber management, who did not respect the signed contract: « I could have persisted but the team’s director made a decision contrary to my contract to not work with me. This became very clear in the Melbourne paddock. Going against her determination could have destroyed the team. It could have ruined the inaugural Grand Prix in Melbourne since the team’s cars could have been seized. It could have ruined the careers of two young drivers, Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr. The team’s directors could even have gone to jail. »

He also made it clear that it was the money from his sponsors, led by McGregor owned by his father-in-law, that kept the team alive during the past season: « I want to clarify that my sponsors paid the sponsorship fees for the 2015 season in full during the first half of 2014. This was done in good faith to help the team deal with its cash flow problems at the time. In fact, it was the advanced payments from my sponsors that helped the team survive in 2014. »

To terminate his contract, according to various sources, Sauber reportedly agreed to pay 15 million euros to Giedo van der Garde, which is more than what his sponsors would have contributed. Nevertheless, the team is now guaranteed to continue receiving subsidies from the FOM thanks to the points scored in Australia. Additionally, the team has likely received even more from its two drivers, allowing them not to honor the initial contract.

In this context, Sauber has also decided to react in an attempt to defend a position in public opinion that is nonetheless quite debatable: « We are quite surprised. We do not know Giedo’s intentions. He may want to present himself as a winner while we were seeking more of a calm resolution after our agreement. Giedo chose a different approach and we do not understand the reason. We had good responses to many of his statements and accusations. Nonetheless, going into details would not help our team, our fans, and our partners. It would only prolong the mudslinging through the media and we will not stoop to that. »

Giedo van der Garde, who will now focus on endurance racing and DTM, concluded his statement hoping that his case will trigger more respect for legally signed contracts in the paddock, as the team found itself in a situation of having four drivers under contract for only two full-time seats: « In conclusion, I would like to say a few words to the teams, drivers, upcoming drivers, their managers, and the Formula 1 authorities. I sincerely hope that what happened to me will start a movement aimed at establishing new standards and implementing new regulations to help defend drivers’ rights. I would like to think that the values and ethics of other economic activities could also be applicable in Formula 1. »

With the participation of www.Racingbusiness.fr