F1: Sauber vows to fight van der Garde lawsuit

Sauber says it will "take all necessary steps" to protect the team's interests following Giedo van der Garde's decision to take legal action against the Swiss Formula 1 outfit.

Van der Garde, who was Sauber's reserve driver in 2014, claims the team exercised an option to run him as a race driver in 2015 last June. The Dutchman says the Swiss team reneged on the deal in early November and instead handed seats to Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson.

Court documents say van der Garde took his case to a Swiss arbitral tribunal, which ruled in his favor. However, Sauber says the ruling is a "first partial award" and "not yet final."

"The respondent was ordered to refrain from taking any action the effect of which would be to deprive Mr. van der Garde of his entitlement to participate in the 2015 Formula 1 season as one of Sauber's two nominated race drivers," read the documents.

The Dutchman has this week brought an application before an Australian court in Melbourne, which hosts the season-opening grand prix on March 15.

Sauber says it will defend the application at a hearing on Monday.

"As this matter is currently before the courts it would be inappropriate for me to comment on specific details," said Sauber team principal Monisha Kaltenborn. "However, we will take all necessary steps to protect our company, this team and its interests.

"Last year was a challenging time for us but going into the 2015 season we have been focused on putting steps in place to ensure that we are delivering the best outcomes for F1's fans."

Originally on Autosport.com