March 2015

Giedo Van der Garde had a contract to race for the Sauber F1 team in 2015. However, Sauber signed two other drivers instead of Van der Garde; Marcus Ericsson and Felipe Nasr.

Van der Garde successfully sued the Sauber F1 team on Wednesday. Sauber appealed.

Sauber lost their appeal on Thursday.

This morning Van der Garde initiated proceedings asking for the team’s assets to be seized and the team’s principal Monisha Kaltenborn to be sent to prison for contempt of court*.

It’s all a bit of a mess.

So, what does this have to do with the Rolling Stones? Well the final track of their 1969 album Let it Bleed, neatly sums up the situation here. The track is, for those who don’t already know, "You Can't Always Get What You Want”. However, the complete lyric is "but if you try sometime, you just might find you get what you need”.

This, in my view, is exactly the point here. Did Van der Garde really expect to be out on track racing this weekend? I doubt it. However, has he put himself in the strongest possible negotiating position by taking this action? Unquestionably.

Litigation strategy is all about tactics and securing what you're actually looking for; even if that is by seemingly not getting what you 'want'. At Legal Studio we understand that and we work with our clients to listen to their needs and tailor our advice and strategy accordingly.

So, although I can’t see an F1 boss sampling Australia’s prison food just yet, Van der Garde’s tactics seem to have secured him pole position at the negotiating table.

Ian

*For those who want to know more, I’d direct you to Adam Cooper’s F1 Blog here which is following all the latest twists and turns in real time from both the court and the track.