The Supreme Court of Victoria ruled that Giedo Van Der Garde should be allowed to race for Sauber after a contractual dispute between him and the team ended up in court.

The dispute arose after Sauber appointed two new drivers for 2015 namely Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr. Van Der Garde took the matter to court as he felt that his contract with the team made provision for him to drive for the Swiss based team in 2015.

The lawyer for Sauber argued that it would not be safe for Van Der Garde to drive as he had not tested the car in pre-season testing. This would have huge safety implications for the driver. On Monday 9 March 2015 the matter was deferred till today where the court ruled in favor of the Dutchman. The ruling concerns the entire 2015 season and not just a one off race.

“I’m happy that we won the case, and that we stand here,” commented Van Der Garde. “Now I’m looking forward to getting back to business.”

But after the ruling was made, the Sauber lawyer filed an appeal. The appeal hearing was deferred until tomorrow.

Sauber Team Principal Monisha Kaltenborn said that she was disappointed with the decision. “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.”

“What we cannot do is jeopardise 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.”