Felipe Massa participated this Wednesday (29) in the first of three days of hearings at the High Court of Justice in London. He is seeking court recognition that he was F1 champion in the 2008 season, based on a deliberate accident that changed the course of a race.
F1, its former boss Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA (International Automobile Federation) are seeking to have the case dismissed. And one of the arguments presented by Ecclestone’s lawyer was that Massa drove poorly and lost the title due to his own mistakes.
That year, Englishman Lewis Hamilton, from McLaren, finished first in the Drivers’ World Championship, with one point ahead of Massa, from Ferrari. Now, in addition to a declaration that he was champion, the Brazilian is seeking compensation of 64 million pounds (R$452 million), plus interest.
His case revolves around the scandal known in Brazil as “Singapuragate”. Massa was leading the Singapore GP after starting in first place, when his Brazilian compatriot Nelsinho Piquet intentionally crashed to try to help his Renault teammate, Fernando Alonso, who won the race.
Piquet revealed in 2009 that he had received orders to hit from team bosses, who were subsequently banned. Massa’s lawyers say Ecclestone, who served as F1 boss, already knew the raid had been deliberate. They also state that Ecclestone and the then FIA president, Max Mosley, did not investigate the case.
Massa argues that the results of that race – Hamilton finished third, scoring six points – should have been annulled. That way, the Brazilian would have been champion.
Lawyers for F1, Ecclestone and the FIA, however, say the case was brought too late and argue that Massa and Ferrari’s mistakes in Singapore – including a disastrous pit stop in which Massa accidentally knocked over a team member – are the reason he lost the race and ultimately the championship.
At Wednesday’s hearing, Ecclestone’s lawyer David Quest told the court that Massa “performed very poorly” in Singapore, where he finished 13th and scored no points. Faced with this statement, the Brazilian smiled.
He filed the lawsuit last year, based on comments made by Ecclestone in an interview with F1 Insider in 2023. According to the publication, Ecclestone said that he and Mosley knew that Piquet had deliberately crashed and did nothing to “protect the sport and save it from a huge scandal.”
Quest said former F1 boss Ecclestone, who turned 95 on Tuesday, “doesn’t remember giving this interview.”
The defendants argue that Massa knew enough to file the lawsuit in 2008 and 2009, meaning the case should be dismissed because it was filed too late.
They also say the declaration Massa seeks is unfair to Hamilton, whose 2008 title was the first of a shared record seven world championships. Hamilton is not a party to the litigation.
The Brit took the championship from Massa by overtaking Germany’s Timo Glock, from Toyota, on the last lap of the Brazilian GP, which closed the season. Fifth place at Interlagos was enough for him to overtake Felipe.
Massa did not win again after 2008 and suffered a serious head injury at the 2009 Hungarian GP. He retired in 2017.
The Brazilian’s lawyers say he did not know enough to sue until 2023, when Ecclestone’s interview suggested the FIA knew Piquet had deliberately crashed and decided not to investigate.
The hearing is expected to conclude on Friday (31), with a decision at a later date to be defined.
