F1: Sauber admits legal dispute affecting team

Sauber Formula 1 boss Monisha Kaltenborn has admitted that the uncertainty created by its ongoing court case with Giedo van der Garde has had a negative impact on the team.

The Swiss squad has been become embroiled in a series of hearings in the Victoria Supreme Court, located just to the north of the Albert Park circuit, which followed a Swiss tribunal ruling that the Dutchman has a valid contract to drive for the team this year.

But with proceedings scheduled to restart tomorrow morning, and both sides urged by the judge to work on a resolution overnight, Kaltenborn accepted there had been an effect on the team.

"Constructive progress" between Sauber/van der Garde

"It's definitely a very negative impact on the team because the situation was for a while unclear," said Kaltenborn, who refused to comment on the situation directly.

"We now have certain actions taken against the team, and we are acting accordingly, there's nothing much more I can really say."

Kaltenborn declined to comment on why Sauber did not take part in FP1 on Friday morning, but she also stressed that she had not considered resigning her position as team principal. But she did admit that the team had not anticipated the situation arising when the decision was made to sign Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson for 2015.

"We have a very clear view of what we did," she said. "We had taken action after a while [during which] we thought about it very well and for us that was very clear. The outcome here is different and that is all I can say to it."

Kaltenborn also said that the court cases have not resulted in any changes to the way that the team operates, and she refused to be drawn on eponymous team founder Peter Sauber's position on her handling of the situation.

"This whole matter does not have any effect on the way we work, the way the team works," said Kaltenborn. "Peter Sauber is chairman of our company, he continues to be in that position, his role has not changed."

Originally on Autosport.com