Giedo van der Garde is likely to drop his legal case against the Sauber team, after further talks which are believed to have resulted in a financial settlement.
The Dutch driver had sued the team for breaching his contract, which gave him the right to one of their two race seats. Sauber chose to instead sign Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr.
Van der Garde took his case to Victoria’s Supreme Court just days before the opening race of the season. They eventually sided with the 29-year-old, leaving Sauber in a predicament.
Last-minute talks on Saturday morning held off the threat of Sauber’s assets being seized and Van der Garde have up his right to the seat, allowing Nasr and Ericsson to qualify. They would eventually finish fifth and eighth respectively.
It’s understood they have now agreed an out-of-court financial settlement, bringing the case to an end for both parties.
The sum being paid to Van der Garde is believed to be around £10.8 million ($16m, €15m), which is a huge figure for a team like Sauber which is already struggling financially.
