Sauber’s driver line-up for this weekend’s season-opening round in Melbourne is in doubt after an Australian court ruled that the team’s 2014 reserve driver Giedo van der Garde has a valid contract to race for them this year.
Sauber appealed the Wednesday ruling, but on Thursday that appeal was rejected. The team have made no official comment on that decision.
Following the original ruling team principal Monisha Kaltenborn said: “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.”
Those two drivers are Sauber’s all-new 2015 line-up of Brazil’s Felipe Nasr and Sweden’s Marcus Ericsson.
