Massa legal battle over F1 2008 outcome could be thrown out before it begins

Felipe Massa is hoping to bring his legal challenge against Formula 1, the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone to trial after a date has been set for October – but it might never make it that far.

The former Ferrari driver is seeking damages having been narrowly beaten to the F1 drivers’ title by Lewis Hamilton in 2008.

The claims are based on the Singapore Grand Prix ‘Crashgate’ incident, which saw Renault’s Nelson Piquet Jr intentionally slam into the barriers to bring out a safety car and aid team-mate Fernando Alonso in securing the victory.

Listed as a breach of contract claim, it is slated to be heard at the King’s Bench Division of the High Court, although Autosport understands there is a strike-out application which could see the case thrown out before it begins.

The defendants (F1, FIA and Ecclestone) are likely to have claimed there is no substance to Massa’s case, which could be linked to the speculative outcome of the 2008 title fight and if the Singapore fallout should have been handled differently.

Massa ultimately missed out on the title by a single point, having finished down in 13th in Singapore after qualifying on pole and leading the race before Piquet’s misdemeanour.

Last year, the Brazilian announced he planned to take F1, FIA and Ecclestone to court after the latter gave an interview in which he revealed that he and then-FIA president Max Mosley knew about the controversy surrounding Piquet’s crash before the end of the 2008 season.

Ecclestone, who has since claimed he has no recollection of the interview, told F1-Insider in April 2023: “According to the statutes, we should have cancelled the race in Singapore under those conditions.

“That means it would never have happened for the world championship standings. Then Felipe Massa would have become world champion and not Lewis Hamilton…today I would have arranged things differently.”

Ecclestone went on to say that he and Mosley did not take action so as not to “harm the image” of F1 but has since admitted he understands why Massa has taken legal action.

Those comments will form the basis of Massa’s case, with his defence claiming he was the victim of a conspiracy – not in relation to the Piquet incident in Singapore, but rather over the events that followed.

Massa is seeking financial recompense for the revenue he lost for not being crowned world champion and now has his court date set, a year and half after Ecclestone’s revelations first led to the 43-year-old beginning legal proceedings.

Felipe Massa in the paddock

Photo by: Simon Galloway / Motorsport Images

Speaking last October, Massa said: “I hope the correct thing happens, for justice, for something that was not part of the sport that punished me big time.

“This is what we are fighting for, which I believe is correct, especially after 16 years and on hearing things which you never thought it was really like that.”