Giedo van der Garde appears set to get a Sauber seat after a court ruled in his favour in Melbourne on Wednesday.
The Supreme Court of Victoria upheld Van der Garde's claim to a right to drive in one of Sauber's two seats at the Australian Grand Prix.
Sauber sacked the Dutchman late last year, with Felipe Nasr and Marcus Ericsson contracted.
But Van der Garde argued his contract gave him a right to drive in 2015 and he took Sauber to court.
A court in Switzerland ruled in Van der Garde's favour and the Supreme Court of Victoria upheld that judgment on Wednesday.
Lawyers for Sauber had argued allowing the 29-year-old to drive would be dangerous due to Van der Garde having no experience in driving the C34 Ferrari, nor a seat that fitted him.