Cheever could sue Scheckter

Cheever claims that Scheckter was under contract to TWR for 2003 and that the South African was not in a position to commit to the Toyota-powered team.

A Cheever statement read: "I am disappointed to hear that Tomas may have signed with another IRL team. Tomas drove for us in 2002 on assignment from TWR Group, which currently holds his contract. TWR Group has recently exercised its option, pursuant to their agreement with Tomas, to retain his services as a driver in 2003. In response to this recent announcement, TWR is consulting their legal advisors and intends to pursue all remedies available to them."

Scheckter took his maiden IRL win with Team Cheever earlier this year, but a series of shunts soured his relationship with the ex-F1 driver. When Cheever added a third car for American Buddy Rice the son of 1979 World Champion, Jody Scheckter, quit after one more race for the team.