Felipe Massa’s £64m claim against F1 over 2008 title will go to trial
Massa is seeking £64m in damages from F1, the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone over the ‘Crashgate’ scandal
A High Court judge has ruled that Felipe Massa’s court case against F1, the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone will go to trial.
Ex-F1 driver Massa is seeking £64m in damages from F1, the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone over an alleged cover-up of the scandal at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, when Nelson Piquet Jnr crashed deliberately under instruction from his Renault team.
The subsequent impact of the crash, Massa argues, cost him the 2008 F1 world championship, which Lewis Hamilton claimed on the final lap of the final race in Brazil, with Ferrari star Massa missing out by one point.
A pre-trial hearing was held at the Royal Courts of Justice in London last month, with lawyers for F1, the FIA and Ecclestone looking to get the case thrown out before it warrants a full trial.
But on Thursday, Mr Justice Jay said the case could go ahead, adding that Massa had "no real prospect of establishing that the FIA's duties were owed to him," but that "he does have a real prospect of proving at trial all the components of his unlawful means conspiracy." A date has not yet been set.
“The same analysis applies to the inducement claim,” Mr Justice Jay added.
In the ruling, he dismissed part of Massa’s claim, saying he had “reached the firm conclusion that it is clear that declaratory relief would not be granted in this case”.
At a hearing in October, the court heard that as part of his claim, Massa was also seeking various declarations regarding the FIA’s conduct.
Mr Justice Jay said: “In my judgment, Mr Massa is not entitled to claim declaratory relief for reputational or publicity reasons.
“The present claim cannot of course rewrite the outcome of the 2008 drivers’ world championship, but if declaratory relief along the lines sought were granted that is how Mr Massa would present his victory to the world and it is also how it would be perceived by the public.
“The second declaration is in the terms that were it not for the FIA’s breaches of duty, Mr Massa would have won the championship: in other words, that he should have won the championship.
“The FIA, as an international sporting body outside the reach of this Court, could and would simply ignore any such declaration.
“That underscores its lack of practical utility, but the declaration comes too close in my view to impinging on the right of the FIA to govern its own affairs.”
Asked by Sky F1’s Martin Brundle about the court case on the grid at the Sao Paulo Grand Prix two weeks ago, Massa replied: “I’m looking forward to justice. I don’t deserve what happened to me, or for anybody who is looking at the sport.
“We did what we were supposed to do with the lawyers – and now we wait for the decision.”
Massa’s lawyer, Nick De Marco KC, said in court that those in charge of the sport at the time were involved in “deliberate concealment” of the scandal in Singapore.
David Quest KC, Ecclestone’s legal counsel, insisted that “Mr Massa’s poor performance in the race was not related to the crash and neither was Lewis Hamilton’s strong performance – neither of them were aware of Renault’s ploy.”
Similarly, Formula One Management (FOM)’s counsellor Anneliese Day KC stated that Massa was “outperformed” by Hamilton across the course of the season.
The whole saga reared its head once again in 2023 when new comments by Ecclestone triggered Massa to take legal action, with the Brazilian’s lawyers alleging their client was the “victim of a conspiracy.”
‘Crashgate’ rocked Formula 1 when the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix in 2008 saw Renault’s Fernando Alonso win the race before it emerged that his teammate, Piquet Jr, had deliberately crashed to bring out a safety car that played into Alonso’s hands.
That safety car prompted a Massa pit stop that Ferrari mishandled, with Massa eventually finishing the race 13th while Hamilton came home third – a difference of six points, a swing which ultimately impacted the title result.
While Renault and team boss Flavio Briatore were punished in 2009, the result of the race stood despite Massa’s protestations, with the FIA’s statutes making clear that overturning the classification from each season is impossible once the FIA Awards Ceremony for that year is complete, a rule set in the FIA International Sporting Code.
Ecclestone told F1-Insider in 2023 that both he and then-FIA president Max Mosley knew of the ‘Crashgate’ scandal in 2008, but refused to publicise the chain of events to avoid the sport a “huge scandal”.
In full, Ecclestone’s comments read: “We wanted to protect the sport and save it from a huge scandal. That’s why I used angelic tongues to persuade my former driver Nelson Piquet to keep calm for the time being.
“Back then, there was a rule that a world championship classification after the FIA awards ceremony at the end of the year was untouchable. So Hamilton was presented with the trophy and everything was fine.
“We had enough information in time to investigate the matter. According to the statutes, we should have cancelled the race in Singapore under these conditions.
“That means it would never have happened for the championship standings. And then Felipe Massa would have become world champion and not Lewis Hamilton.”
Ecclestone has since said he does not remember the interview, adding: “This was an interview I gave to someone in Germany and the guy at the time, his English wasn’t that good and he was taking notes, and it was picked up by someone in England.
“The lawyers for myself, the FIA and F1 do not understand how it can be heard in a court.”
However, Massa has previously stated his eagerness for the “truth to come out” and maintained his willingness for “justice” to emerge.
He told The Times: “Accountability is key to preventing future fraud. Those entrusted with protecting the sport directly violated their duties, and they cannot be allowed to benefit from concealing their own misconduct.
“Such conduct is unacceptable in any sphere of life, especially in a sport followed by millions, including children. We will pursue this to the very end in order to achieve a just and fair outcome – for myself, for motorsport in Brazil, and for the sport as a whole.”
In 2023, Hamilton said of the matter: “I’ve got a really bad memory. I’m really just focused on the here and now... I’m not focused on what happened 15 years ago.”
Despite the legal action, Massa is not able to officially overturn the result – with the FIA’s own International Sporting Code stating protests and reviews expire 14 days after a competition and four days prior to that year’s prize-giving ceremony.
Massa’s best-finish in F1 turned out to be that 2008 season as he retired in 2017 while Hamilton went on to win six more titles with Mercedes, holding the joint-record of seven F1 World Championships with Michael Schumacher. Hamilton, now 40, joined Ferrari earlier this year.