Sauber: Australian GP points a relief after van der Garde court row

A series of appearances in the Victoria Supreme Court, culminating in ex-test driver Giedo van der Garde giving up his legal right to race for Sauber in Australia, over the six days before the race cast a shadow over the team.

But Felipe Nasr's fifth place, backed up by Marcus Ericsson's eighth, earned Sauber its first points finish since the 2013 Brazilian GP.

"It's a great relief, it has been a rough weekend," said team boss Monisha Kaltenborn when asked about the significance of the result in the circumstances..

"What impressed me about the team is how they could stay focused, and the drivers as well because they are more exposed to the media so it is not easy for them.

"They had their heads in the right place and showed great performance."

Kaltenborn emphasised that after a point-less 2014, the first time Sauber had drawn a blank since entering F1 in 1993, scoring points was vital for the team's motivation.

She added that while the improvement of the Ferrari power unit was a significant factor in the turnaround, the team has also made progress on the chassis side.

"It has been a long time; too long," she said of the team's non-scoring run.

"It's important for the motivation of the team [to score].

"The team has worked very hard at home through the winter and it has not been an easy time.

"We had to make sure that we improved the chassis as well, because the entire package has to be competitive.

"You could see certain potential already in the winter testing and I'm glad that we could show all the people who felt that we were doing 'show' runs that we weren't.

"This is, for us, a start. We remain realistic and we don't know what's going to happen in the next races and where the car will be, but at least the potential is there and it's competitive."