I feel for the drivers here but not the team. At first I was thinking van der Garde was just winging but when you think about it he has every right to do something. If you have a contract saying you are driving next year then you're not going to look for other drives. Sauber caused van der Garde to not bother looking for employment, which in turn has almost guaranteed a end to him F1 career.
Once again, it is the desperate financial situation that the small teams are in which is at the root of this. On the other hand, I think Sauber should have stayed in FOTA and helped to keep it together. It's funny how it has all come undone for the small teams since FOTA fell apart.
Clearly Felipe Nasr is the one driver who brought the most cash, and a lot of it too! If you compare Felipe's GP2 car from last year you will notice a very similar livery compared to this years Sauber. Felipe is sponsored by Banco Do Brasil, funding his racing career with millions upon millions of dollars. It can only be imagined how much Banco Do Brasil had to shell out to Sauber to have them change their entire paint scheme! please log in to view this image
United we stand, Divided we fall!!! Bernie has always tried to divide the teams as it gives him more power. Unfortunately the teams are way too self-seeking and business orientated. So they will never stand together for long, Bernie will financially bribe a team or 2 (Ferrari & Red Bull) to split.
IIRC, it was Sauber who joined Red Bull and Ferrari in leaving FOTA in 2011, thereby instigating its demise. I thought at the time that Ferrari must have been leaning on Sauber to leave but it was very short-sighted of them not to see how the disbanding of FOTA would weaken all the smaller teams in the future. It hasn't taken long for things to become critical either. But yeah, same old divide and conquer from Bernie and same old Ferrari doing his dirty work along with Red Bull, aka Ferrari mkII. What's the betting they'll be producing the much-vaunted customer cars Bernie's so keen to introduce?
No easy way out of this. Giedo had a contract which should be honoured, but the reduced funding he brings might mean that honouring the contract bankrupts Sauber. Paying Giedo off probably isn't an option either. Firstly because the money probably isn't there, and secondly because his contract probably didn't include a wage, his personal sponsors probably cover that. Ericsson will miss out, not Nasr. No question.
Sauber have lost their appeal. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/31846217 My view on this is at least it gives us fans something to talk about, rather than which one of the Mercedes is going to win
Interesting sub point: (from link above) Van der Garde must still acquire a valid super-licence - required for any driver to compete in F1 - if he hopes to compete this weekend, as last season's has now expired and has not been renewed. His application must go through the motorsport authorities in his native Netherlands, who in turn must apply to the sport's world governing body, the FIA, but Van der Garde is confident of pushing the paperwork through in time. Apparently these take 14 days and he applied for one on wednesday. He asked for it to be fast tracked...
Giedo won't take the payout his fathering law/wife is a billionaire so he will drive and gladly bankrupt Sauber if he has to because that's not his problem.
Giedo signed a contract in good faith and it has been reported that they have already taken money from him. Nasr, Ericsson and Sutil also signed contracts in good faith with Sauber; Nasr and Ericsson's sponsors have paid substantial sums upfront. This mess is of Sauber's making, sadly, and I'm surprised that they would be so foolish, desperate or not. I don't see how Giedo's wealth or family are relevant here: why should he take a pay-off when he has a valid contract and he wants to race?
Agree fully. My sympathies lie totally with Geido here. He has signed a deal with them as a test/reserve on the basis that he would get the offer a race drive the year after, which Sauber did. They then backtracked and offered the seats to 2 higher paying drivers. Now we all know they were in difficulty and were probably forced into needing to take the money, but that doesn't change the fact that the deal with Geido needs honored. His career is in severe jeopardy here through absolutely no fault of his own and due to Sauber reneging on a deal. Why the hell should he just walk away for free? Even taking a pay off would probably end his career in F1, his only option left is to fight for the deal he is entitled to and drive, which oddly it has proven legally he has the right to do. None of this is Geido's fault. The team might well be in difficulty but you can't go about shafting people you had legally binding deals with. Yes, Sauber are now in a mess because their other 2 drivers also have valid deals and can now take Sauber to court again looking for compensation. Sorry to say it, but i think Kaltenboorn has signed the teams death warrant the second she took on a third driver.
You'd have thought having a lawyer as a team principal would have helped them avoid this kind of situation.
This is the part I just don't get: nothing I have seen of her suggests she would be so foolish as to allow this situation to happen. As she is operating as team principal, were other lawyers responsible for the contracts? By contrast, Toto Wolff seems intimately acquainted with the progress of Lewis's next contract but then he'll have more staff and fewer money issues and the like preoccupying him. I presume that there's much more to come out relating to this but, as it stands, I fear for their survival. I know it sounds a bit dramatic but how long before only the teams in the Strategy Group remain?
Talk that Sauber are going to be getting their cars seized if they don't stand by the courts ruling. What a complete shambles.
Also talk that Sutil may be seeking action. It's a 4 way tussle. If true they are finished, not a hope of seeing the season out. The legal costs alone will see them fold.
I don't quite understand the legalese, but VdG's lawyers filed some request that meant Sauber had to give the court a list of all assets they had in Melbourne, of which some or all could be forfeit if they ignore the court order.
I saw that. I also read Giedo quoted as saying that he gets on well with the team; management excepted, presumably. Even though this situation is not his fault, it's hard to imagine that relations won't be strained if everyone's jobs are in jeopardy. And that's before the possibility of further lawsuits from whichever of Ericsson and Nasr gets jettisoned. I've no idea whether Sutil has a case. I really hope I'm over-thinking this.
I did read a theory that 'Sauber management' thought that if they fired Giedo he could not sue because it's the team that submits the Super Licence and they would not submit the application. So in theory Giedo would not have a Super Licence and as such he would be in breach of contract therefore he would have no case! But it would appear that the Swiss and Australian courts and Giedo's lawyers know the law better than Sauber. I would bet that the free advice from The Citizens Advice Beuro would have served Sauber better than their lawyers Can't see this ending well.
The only reason Geido doesn't have a current super license is lack of recent mileage because Sauber have refused to put him in the car in testing. He is still eligible for one via "force mejure" They now have another 2, possibly 3 drivers with equally valid race deals to deal with. They either need to pay off 2 (and probably be taken to court still) or go through several cases..... £££££££££££££££££££££££££ They have had it
