Albers’ ex-manager eyes van der Garde

(GMM) F1 test driver Giedo van der Garde may have been the factor that led to fellow Dutch driver Christijan Albers' recent split with his manager.

It is reported by the magazine Formule 1 Race Report that Albers' estranged manager Lodewijk Varossieau could already be in talks with a possible new charge — 23-year-old van der Garde, who currently occasionally tests for the Spyker team.

Test rookie van der Garde switched to Spyker this year after actually signing a deal with Super Aguri — a contractual anomaly that means he is still without an FIA Super License.

The news preceded information that his girlfriend's father, Marcel Boekhoorn, this year bought a $10 million stake in Spyker's parent company.

It now emerges that driver manager Varossieau, who was still in charge of Albers at the time, was in Monaco a guest on Boekhoorn's luxury yacht.

But Varossieau, whose company GR8 Industries is contracted to Spyker as sponsorship specialists, insists that he has actually been approached by many drivers following his split with the Silverstone-based team's race driver Albers.

"It shows that we must have done a good job (with Albers)," he said.