GIEDO van der Garde believes his Formula One dream is likely over after he ended his contract dispute with Sauber by reaching a settlement with the team.

“We have reached a settlement with Sauber and my driver contract with the team has been ended by mutual consent,” the 29-year-old said yesterday.

“As a passionate race driver, I feel sad and am very disappointed. I have worked very hard my entire career.

“I had hoped at last to be able to show what I am capable of. This dream has been taken away from me and I know that my future in Formula One is probably over.”

The Dutchman was the main character in a bizarre storyline ahead of last Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix, arriving at the Melbourne circuit on Friday suited up and ready to drive, despite the team intending to field Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr in the race.

Van der Garde, who drove for Caterham in 2013 and was Sauber’s reserve driver last season, held a contract with the team which guaranteed him a full-time drive and had won a series of legal battles both in Switzerland and Australia which left team principal Monisha Kaltenborn under the threat of arrest if she failed to comply.

A deal was struck on the eve of the grand prix, with Van der Garde agreeing to sit out the race, and yesterday he announced he had settled the case, dropping his claim to a drive and receiving “significant compensation.”

Van der Garde, who said he now hopes to secure a drive in the World Endurance Championship and race at Le Mans, claimed that it was his sponsors who had kept Sauber afloat last season.

“My sponsors paid the sponsorship fee related to the 2015 season in its entirety to Sauber in the first half of 2014.”

by Our Sports Desk