Felipe Massa has insisted “the truth will come out” in his lawsuit against Formula 1, the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone over Lewis Hamilton’s 2008 title win – but the former Ferrari driver could not say when the case would be concluded
The Brazilian wants an admission that sports lawmakers did not adequately investigate the 2008 ‘Crashgate’ scandal. The impact of the opening race in Singapore on that year’s championship became clear when Hamilton won the final lap of the final race, with then-Ferrari star Massa missing out by a single point.
Ecclestone’s new comments about scandal in Singapore in 2023 encourage Massa to take legal action with his lawyers sending An eight-page ‘Pre-claim Letter’ was sent to F1 and the FIA last August, claiming that their clients were “victims of a conspiracy”.
Having failed to receive a suitable response, Massa confirmed in March that his lawyers had filed a lawsuit in London’s High Court. The 43-year-old is seeking more than £62 million ($80 million) in damages and a recognition that the FIA breached its own rules by failing to properly investigate Nelson Piquet Jr.’s crash. Massa believes he would have won the 2008 title against Hamilton if the crash had been properly investigated.
In his new comments, former Ferrari pilot Massa added that the financial burden of such a legal battle, which has been going on for five months, is “very expensive”, but he continues his willingness for “justice” to emerge.
“I hope, in the interest of justice, that the right thing happens for something that is not part of the sport that has punished me greatly,” Massa told RacingNews365.
“That’s what we’re fighting for, and I believe it’s true, especially after 16 years and hearing things you never thought were the case.
“After that, I decided to build a big team of professional people divided into many different countries. They believe that what happened in the name of sport was really unfair, and I definitely paid the price for it.”
“When we heard Bernie’s comment last year, we started putting everything together and started fighting and analyzing things in a professional and legal way because that wasn’t part of the sport.”
Despite the ongoing legal case, Massa could not announce when the trial would conclude, but he is determined that “the truth will come out”.
“I never thought I would be a part of something like this in my life,” he added. “It’s not easy. It’s also very expensive, a lot of money, so I hope it’s all over soon.
“But we have been waiting so long for justice that we must hope that the truth will come out and justice will be done.”
‘Crashgate’ broke out in Formula One at the first Singapore Grand Prix in 2008, when it was revealed that Renault’s Fernando Alonso won the race, when it was revealed that his teammate Piquet Jr had deliberately crashed to bring out a safety car that Alonso had taken over. It shook .
The safety car caused Ferrari to make an erroneous pit stop on Massa; Massa finished the race 13th, while Hamilton finished third; A six-point lead was a swing that ultimately affected the championship outcome.
While Renault and team principal Flavio Briatore were penalized in 2009, the race’s result stood despite Massa’s objections; The FIA’s statutes clearly state that it is impossible to reverse each season’s standings once that year’s FIA Awards Ceremony has been completed; This is a rule. It is stated in the FIA International Sporting Rules.
Ecclestone revealed last March that both he and then-FIA president Max Mosley knew about the 2008 ‘Crashgate’ scandal but refused to publicize the chain of events to prevent the sport from turning into a “major scandal”.
He has since said he doesn’t remember saying the important lines. Reuters: “I honestly don’t remember any of this. “I definitely don’t remember giving an interview.”
Ecclestone said F1-Insider information In early 2023: “We wanted to protect the sport and save it from a major scandal. So I used angelic tongues to persuade my old driver, Nelson Piquet, to stay calm for now.
“At the time, there was a rule that world championship classification held after the FIA awards ceremony at the end of the year was inviolable, so Hamilton was given the trophy and everything was fine.
“We had sufficient information in time to investigate the matter. According to the regulations we should have canceled the race in Singapore under these circumstances.
“This means that this will never happen in the championship standings. Then Felipe Massa would be world champion, not Lewis Hamilton.”
Last August, ahead of the 2023 Dutch Grand Prix, Hamilton said: “I have a really bad memory. I’m really just focused on the here and now and helping the team get back to the championship. I’m not focusing on what happened 15 years ago.”
Despite ongoing legal proceedings, Massa is unlikely to be able to officially overturn the result; The FIA’s own International Sporting Rules state that protests and investigations will end 14 days after the competition and four days before that year’s awards ceremony.
Massa’s best result in F1 was the 2008 season, from which he retired in 2017. Hamilton won a further six championships with Mercedes and holds the joint record of seven F1 World Championships with Michael Schumacher. Hamilton, now 39, will join Ferrari next year.