Sauber Settles Contract Dispute with Ex-Driver Van der Garde

Former Sauber test driver Giedo van der Garde says he has settled his contract dispute with the team and received "significant compensation" while accepting his Formula One career is effectively over.

Van der Garde had a deal to be one of the team's race drivers this season, but Sauber did not honor it, and legal judgments in Switzerland and last week in Australia before the season-opening race supported the Dutchman's claims.

Van der Garde said on his Facebook page on Wednesday that the compensation meant "my rights have finally been recognized and that at least some justice has been done."

He said it was his sponsorship money that kept Sauber afloat during financial difficulties last year, and he slammed the team's decision-making as "bizarre."