Cheever: I could sue Scheckter for slander

Cheever claims that Scheckter signed a five-year contract with TWR in 2002, and that through Cheever's partnership with TWR via its Infiniti engines, Red Bull Team Cheever had an option on the South African's services in 2003.

However, Scheckter quit the team ahead of the St. Louis round midway through the 2002 season, saying that working conditions were unsafe, a remark that has incensed Cheever.

"He should know; he was a human crash-test dummy," said Cheever. "It's absolutely amazing to me that he wasn't seriously hurt in some of those crashes. We became Dallara's unofficial safety tester. We hit cars from every angle. We have a letter from Dallara saying, 'Thank you very much. Can you please send the information to us?' It was silly.

"He has made the insinuation that our cars were unsafe; that's how he's trying to free himself from the contract," Cheever added. "We have very valid reasons to claim slander and a bunch of other things, which we will pursue aggressively once the first step is successful."

TWR is currently seeking a court date in London for its case against Scheckter. If this is successful Cheever says that he'll consider pursuing the matter against Ganassi and engine supplier Toyota.