Former McLaren star Lewis Hamilton defeated Felipe Massa to win the 2008 Drivers’ Championship.
In relation to the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix “crashgate” incident, Felipe Massa’s legal team has sued Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One Management, and the FFA. Lewis Hamilton won the drivers’ championship that year, and Massa now maintains that the outcome of a race held near the end of the season ought to be thrown out.
Driver Nelson Piquet Jr. of Renault purposefully crashed in a pivotal race to activate a safety car, allowing teammate Fernando Alonso to win. While Massa failed to earn any points, Hamilton came in second.
The outcome was crucial in Hamilton’s victory over Massa at McLaren. By just one point, Hamilton defeated Massa to win his first World Championship.
The race’s outcome remained unchanged and no action was taken right away. But in an interview last year, former Formula One chief Ecclestone asserted that there was enough evidence at the time to start an inquiry and possibly overturn the outcome.
Since then, Ecclestone has maintained that he has no memory of conducting the interview.
However, Massa, who feels he was unfairly denied the world title that year, is enraged by the 93-year-old’sremarks. His attorneys have now formally announced that they intend to file a lawsuit in the London High Court against Ecclestone, the FOM, and the FIA.
According to a statement from a legal firm, “Mr. Massa is requesting declarations that the drivers’ championship would have been his had the FIA acted properly, and that the FIA violated its regulations by delaying its investigation into Nelson Piquet Junior’s crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.”
“Mr. Massa additionally requests damages for the substantial monetary loss he has endured as a result of the FIA’s collapse, in which Mr. Ecclestone and FOM were also involved.”
Due to the 2023 summer break, Massa’s legal team did not receive a response to the questions they submitted to the FIA and FOM last year. Important parties were judged to be unavailable to respond.
“Mr. Massa has no choice but to initiate legal proceedings after attempts to find an amicable resolution have been unsuccessful,” the statement said.
Following the BBC’s report that president Mohammed ben Sulayem was being investigated for allegedly tampering with a race result last year, the FIA is coming under more scrutiny. According to the report, Ben Sulayem allegedly interfered to overturn a penalty given to Fernando Alonso of Aston Martin at the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, according to information provided to the FIA by a whistleblower.
“Recent events naturally demonstrate that issues of transparency and integrity in Formula One remain relevant, and it is clear that serious work is needed to restore its credibility and long-term future,” the statement from Massa’s legal team continued.
Massa allegedly wants to be compensated between £60 million and £150 million.
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