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Force India to Pay Giedo Van Der Garde Almost $2 Million

Force India might have progressed a lot in Formula One in recent years, but their off-track battles, often held in a court of law, usually end up bad for team owner Vijay Mallya. Until his organization's dispute with Aerolab is settled, Mallya has lost his fight in court with former tester Giedo van der Garde.

In fact, the Dutch racer collected on a testing programme mistake made not by Mallya and Force India, but by the team's former ownership and management. Back in 2007, when the squad was known in Formula One as Spyker F1 Team, Van der Garde was promised approximately 6000 km of testing, yet he was only given approximately 2270 km.

The racer issued immediate legal actions against the Silverstone-based team, asking for $2 million in damage. And, according to the latest media reports, it seems the court gave a favorable decision to Van der Garde, obliging Force India to pay the driver as much as $1.865 million. The Indian-backed squad is yet to issue a statement on the matter.

Curiously enough, Van der Garde's manager Jeroen Schothorst doesn't think the court ruling will influence his client's chances of inking a new deal with Force India for the future negatively. On the contrary, he believes squeezing money from a former partner via court room might prove beneficial for the Dutch driver.

A few years ago this topic was a disadvantage, now it could be beneficial to us,” said Schothorst, hinting that he and Force India are currently in talks to secure his client a seat at Silverstone for the 2011 season of F1.

The Rhenen-born racer recently concluded his 2nd consecutive campaign in the GP2 Main Series, this time driving for Barwa Addax team, finishing the 2010 championship in 7th place.
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