Giedo van der Garde got his chance to test out the Spyker at Silverstone last week. Although this raised little media interest, it could be the start of some tension at Spyker.
Van der Garde had been unable to test for Spyker earlier because he was contracted to the Super Aguri team and was unable to get a superlicense until Suzuki agreed to it. The team refused to let him get his superlicense because of a disagreement between the two teams over chassis design. At Indianapolis, the two teams met to discuss matters and it seems that they came to an agreement.
It is unclear what the two teams talked about, however Super Aguri appear to have agreed to release Van der Garde, probably in exchange for Spyker to take a back seat on the arbitration issues.
Christian Albers has disappointed this season, but due to the support and money he brings in, the team have allowed him to stay on. However, Van der Garde’s girlfriend’s father Marcel Boekhoorn is a Spyker shareholder and has some financial clout. If Boekhoorn chose to extend his financial help to the team, particularly given that Albers hasn’t had the best of seasons, it is possible that Spyker will drop him in favour of Van der Garde – Van der Garde may prove no better than Albers, but the additional money would be handy for the team.
