Giedo van der Garde

Giedo van der Garde. The man, the myth, the legend.

Okay not really. He is a okay driver though, and after years of speculation and hype in his motherland he finally made his Formula 1 debut last season with Caterham. Not exactly the best team to make your debut with but van der Garde did what he's always done: drive the car without making a complete fool of himself.

His path to a race seat in Formula 1 was a long and unspectacular one, spending a lot of time in lower series without winning a championship apart from the 2008 Formula Renault 3.5 championship, which he won with a 29 point lead over the next competitor. Unfortunately for him that was the end of his winning ways, moving up to GP2 in 2009 and managing only one more top 3 championship finish, in the 2011 GP2 Asia Series.

After one more season in GP2 his hard work was finally rewarded when he managed to get enough money to buy himself a racing seat with Caterham. His steady but unspectacular driving continued and he was only able to finish in front of Max Chilton. After that he did not get a new contract with Caterham, signing with Sauber instead, as a test driver. It looks as if his F1 adventure is all but over...

Or is it? Reports from the Netherlands are saying he could return as early as this season, replacing Adrian Sutil at Sauber.

What do you make of van der Garde? A guy who simply needs a chance in a better car (he was part of the McLaren Young Driver Programme at one point) or a future page on f1rejects.com?
 
Mephistopheles Ahh I see which brings me back to a similar situation that bought down Arrows when Tom Walkinshaw had agreed Jos Verstappen was one of his drivers to please Orange who wanted a Dutch driver. Then he sacked Verstappen and replaced him with Frentzen when Prost went bust which infuriated Orange to the point they withdrew sponsorship. Needless to say Arrows did not last long after that
 
I reckon that's a 50/50 split between him and his backers. His backers get their money back and he gets a tidy sum to cover expenses.

It's all worked out then.
 
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How much do Sauber spend a year? This must make quite a hole in their budget, just when they produce a car which looks like it can earn points. And we all know what points make, don't we Brucie.
 
Sam Bird must be gutted he will probably never get an F1 drive.....

Back to Giedo..now he's got some money do you think he will now go to Marussia and demand a drive
 
A statement from vdG.

“I would like to direct a few words to the teams, drivers, future drivers, their managers and the Formula One governing bodies,” said Van der Garde. “I sincerely hope that what has happened to me will start a movement aimed at setting new standards and bringing about new regulations to help protect the rights of drivers. I would like to think that the values and business ethics that apply in any other business should be equally applicable in Formula One.

“I am lucky to have had Marcel and Jeroen on my side. Both of them have extensive backgrounds in business and bring a lot of expertise to the table when it comes to resolving complicated business affairs. Without them, I would have remained empty-handed in the wake of this extraordinary affair.

“There are numerous examples of talented drivers with good intentions but without the sort of professional support that I have had, who have been broken by Formula One and who have seen their careers destroyed. I therefore hope that my unprecedented case which was heard last week by the Supreme Court of Victoria at Melbourne will serve as an example to illustrate what should change, and that new regulations will be implemented to help protect driver rights.”

http://adamcooperf1.com/2015/03/18/van-der-garde-case-should-wake-up-call-for-f1-business-ethics/
 
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