Giedo van der Garde was denied access to the Abu Dhabi paddock, the Swiss newspaper Blick reports.

The Dutchman has been Sauber's reserve driver in 2014, and this weekend was reportedly scheduled to drive in the first Friday practice session.

Ultimately, it was Adderly Fong, a Hong Kong driver, who appeared on track in Abu Dhabi.

Like Adrian Sutil, van der Garde appeared to have signed a Sauber race contract for 2015, but the Swiss team has instead announced that Felipe Nasr will drive alongside Marcus Ericsson next year.

Legal action pending

Blick newspaper reports that the van der Garde camp including his wealthy backers are threatening legal action, moving Sauber boss Monisha Kaltenborn to retract the driver's team-connected paddock pass for the 2014 finale.

"The Sutil camp has also apparently become active on the legal side," the report added.