Sauber to give a special retirement gift to Giedo Van der Garde 8 years after infamous legal battle

Giedo Van der Garde was signed by Sauber for 2015 but the Dutchman never got to race for the Swiss team.

Sauber to give a special retirement gift to Giedo Van der Garde 8 years after infamous legal battle

Giedo Van der Garde wearing Sauber overalls during the 2015 Australian GP weekend (Via IMAGO)

The Sauber F1 team has witnessed a period of stability in the past few seasons. However, there was a time when the Swiss-based team was struggling financially and relied on sponsorship revenue from its drivers. Thankfully, things have changed drastically since then. Now, the soon-to-be Audi works team has decided to make amends with its former driver Giedo Van der Garde.

Van der Garde recently announced his retirement from motorsport. The Dutch driver had raced in F1 with Caterham before joining Sauber as its reserve driver in 2014. Giedo Van der Garde had claimed that he had a contract with the team for 2015. However, the Swiss team seemed to have signed three drivers for two seats that year.

The former Caterham driver even showed up in Sauber overalls for seat-fitting at the Australian GP. Nevertheless, after a legal battle in the Supreme Court of Victoria, Sauber reached a settlement with the Dutchman to not have him race in 2015.

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Now, Van der Garde has revealed that the Swiss team will be finally gifting him that seat of overalls. The Dutchman mentioned that he’d soon be visiting the Sauber factory to pick up this retirement souvenir from Sauber. 

I'm still getting it [the overalls] from Sauber. It's waiting for me and I'm also going to pick it up at the factory.
Giedo Van der Garde told RacingNews365

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Giedo Van der Garde names ex-Sauber boss as culprit over 2015 fiasco

The Dutch driver was looking forward to visiting his former team. Although Giedo Van der Garde mentioned that former Sauber Team Principal Monisha Kaltelborn was the culprit for the entire fiasco in 2015. Kaltenborn had signed Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr alongside Van der Garde for the two full-time drivers that year.

The biggest culprit was team boss Monisha Kaltenborn, but all those guys who are still there now are good friends of mine.
Monisha Kaltelborn
Monisha Kaltelborn (Via Autoweek)

However, the 38-year-old mentioned that he continues to be friends with members of the Swiss team. Van der Garde revealed that he would have another tour of Sauber when he visits the factory, over 8 years after 2015. The Dutch driver would also have lunch with his former team members. Though Giedo Van der Garde affirmed that old helmets and suits don’t mean much to him, the entire Sauber incident remains one of the most unique instances in F1.

We agreed that I go to the factory, that I get another tour and then we have lunch together. That suit... All those helmets and suits from the past don't do much for me, but of course there's a unique story behind this.

Certainly, Giedo Van der Garde and Sauber seem to be on good terms at last. The Swiss team has undergone massive changes since the 2015 events with new leadership and new owners. As such, this meet might be a way for Sauber to put an end to this embarrassing story that ruined the team’s image 8 years ago.

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