Dutch F1 driver Jos Verstappen, who was replaced by Heinz-Harald Frentzen a mere three weeks before the start of the 2002 season, will take his battle with Arrows to the courts.
Dutch F1 driver Jos Verstappen, who was replaced by Heinz-Harald Frentzen a mere three weeks before the start of the 2002 season, will take his battle with Arrows to the courts.
Verstappen was summarily dropped from the Arrows squad last week when team boss Tom Walkinshaw drafted Frentzen, former driver of the now-defunct Prost team, to partner Brazilian Enrique Bernoldi in this year’s Formula One championship.
The Dutchman, who picked up the only point during a miserable 2001 season for the British team, had suggested he would consider taking legal action over the ending of his contract.
His manager, Huub Rothengatter, confirmed on Thursday that Verstappen would be taking the matter further.
“We will start to have a substantial claim against Arrows and we are prepared to pursue this through the courts,” he said. “People think this is the end of the story but it is not. This has been very disappointing and we will take action, that’s for sure.”
Verstappen signed a deal for the 2002 season midway through last year’s championship.
Rothengatter said there was no get-out clause, and the 29-year-old, who joined the team in 2000, would be seeking compensation for loss of earnings.
“What is the value of a signed contract?” Rothengatter added. “We did not just shake hands or smile at each other. It was a signed contract which had been registered at the contracts recognition bureau in Geneva.”
With the season less than three weeks away, it leaves the former Benetton driver little time to find himself a new car for the season. He has, however, been linked with a role as a test driver with Formula One newcomers Toyota.
Arrows boss Tom Walkinshaw has not made any apology or offered an explanation for Verstappen’s dismissal. The team boss has, however, expressed the belief that Frentzen will boost the team to the status of potential race-winners.
“We wanted a driver who was capable of winning races and in the past had won grands prix, because it will provide us with no hiding place,” said Walkinshaw. “It will be up to us to achieve results.”
Frentzen was an outsider for the 1999 world championship, winning two races for Jordan. He also won one race during his two years at Williams, and Walkinshaw is keen to rekindle the spark in the German, who endured a tough season in 2001.
“We wanted Frentzen because we feel we have a good car and we wanted to make the most of it,” Walkinshaw added.