his car suffered gearbox problems in the opening three rounds and endured engine failures in the races at San Marino and Spain. He scored his first point of the season with a sixth-place finish in Monaco and managed to finish the races in Canada and France. Diniz suffered three more consecutive retirements, and finished the races in Hungary and Belgium, in eleventh and fifth respectively. Diniz finished the season by retiring in the final three races. He finished 14th in the Drivers' Championship, and was tied on points with team-mate Salo. At the end of the season, Diniz became embroiled in a contract dispute. On 12 October, Diniz chose to leave Arrows and signed a contract to join Sauber, having been previously linked to a seat at BAR. Arrows, however, insisted that they had the right to exercise their option to keep Diniz. Diniz argued that the Arrows option contained a clause allowing him to leave if Arrows did not deliver performances required by the driver. The dispute went to Formula One's Contract Recognition Board, who ruled in favour of Diniz on 22 February. Arrows later sued Diniz for £4 million, for breach of contract. The case was later heard by the Commercial High Court in London in February 2001 and ruled that Arrows owner Tom Walkinshaw pay Diniz £500,000 in compensation. Arrows later applied for an appeal against the decision, and the Court of Appeal ruled in Diniz's favour in February 2002. Sauber (1999–2000) 1999 For 1999, Diniz partnered experienced driver Jean Alesi at Sauber. He endured a torrid start: He was forced into retirement in the first five races held in the season; and in the sixth race of the season held in Canada, he managed to score his first point of the season with a sixth-place finish. Diniz suffered a retirement at the next round in France, before clinching consecutive sixth-place finishes in the next two races and later suffered further consecutive retirements in the following six races. In late August, it was announced that Diniz would remain at Sauber for 2000. At the European Grand Prix, Diniz was hit by Benetton driver Alexander Wurz who sent the Sauber driver into a barrel roll and suffered a bruised knee and shoulder, resulting from his car's roll hoop becoming damaged. The season was somewhat of a disappointment for both the team and the driver, however although Diniz only