Felipe Massa has made good on his threat to sue the FIA, F1 and Bernie Ecclestone, filing a lawsuit in the UK.
After months of back and forth over whether to legally challenge the 2008 Formula 1 World Championship, Felipe Massa has officially moved forward with his lawsuit against Formula 1, the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone.
Felipe Massa’s legal representative releases statement
Massa has filed a lawsuit in the UK High Court against Formula One Management (FOM), the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) and former Formula One Group chairman Bernie Ecclestone.
A statement from Massa’s legal representative confirmed that the lawsuit was filed on Monday, March 11th.
“Mr. Massa said the FIA breached regulations by failing to promptly investigate Nelson Piquet Jr.’s crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix and that had he acted properly, Mr. “We are seeking a declaration that we would have won the championship,” the statement read. .
“Mr. Massa is also seeking damages for the significant financial losses suffered due to the FIA’s failures, in which Mr. Ecclestone and FOM also colluded.
“As Mr. Ecclestone admitted, “We hope we have enough information in time to investigate the matter.” 2008 and “Please cancel the race in Singapore.”“. Ecclestone went on to say that had the results of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix been cancelled, “Felipe Massa would have been world champion” and asserted that Massa had been “cheated and deprived of the title he deserved.”
“Attempts to find an amicable solution have failed, leaving Mr. Massa with no choice but to initiate legal proceedings.
“Recent events have rightly shown that issues of transparency and integrity in F1 remain relevant and serious efforts are required to restore F1’s credibility and long-term future. It is clear that
“The 2009 FIA investigation concluded that the FIA had ‘never previously regarded the allegations as serious’, but even after the revelations brought forward last year, the result of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix remains It remains valid and officially sanctioned by the FIA.”
F1 declined to comment on the situation when contacted by PlanetF1.com, but a request for comment has been submitted to the FIA.
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Why would Felipe Massa sue the FIA, FOM and Bernie Ecclestone?
The Brazilian driver is suing the three parties in charge of F1 at the time of the infamous ‘Crashgate’ scandal. This scandal was an incident that proved to have a major impact on the outcome of that year’s championship race at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
Midway through the first race at Marina Bay, Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr. was under pressure as the Brazilian driver tried to continue his career after a tough time with the Enstone-based team. Because of this, he intentionally crashed his car.
The crash brought out the safety car and Fernando Alonso made a perfectly timed pit stop to take the lead and the Spaniard took the win. Massa pitted for the safety car and drove off with his fuel hose still connected, resulting in a devastating blow to the championship and his loss despite leading the race.
Massa lost the world championship battle to Lewis Hamilton, who had won his first title, but when the trophy was handed to Hamilton at the award ceremony at the end of the season, it was officially decided that he would win the title according to FIA’s own regulations. and was discarded. .
Less than a year later, Piquet Jnr. The FIA investigation officially uncovered the plan and punished the Renault team for its cowardly actions, revealing how this accident was deliberately carried out. revealed.
However, the race result was left untouched and the issue remained dormant for around 15 years until a new interview given by Ecclestone last year reset the timeline.
At the time, it was an accepted fact that the then FIA President Max Mosley and the FIA, as well as Bernie Ecclestone and the FOM, became aware of Renault’s actions during the 2009 season.
However, an interview Ecclestone gave in 2023 revealed details that reset that timeline to before the end of the 2008 season, well before the generally accepted version of events.
“Max Mosley and I were informed of what happened at the race in Singapore during the 2008 season,” he recalled. F1 Insider interview dated March 1st.
“Piquet Junior told his father Nelson that at one point the team asked him to run into a wall to help his teammate Alonso, including bringing in the safety car.
“Pique Junior was worried about extending his contract, so he agreed under great pressure.
“We decided to do nothing for now. We wanted to protect the sport and save it from a big scandal. That’s why I used the angel’s tongue to tell former driver Nelson Piquet I persuaded him to remain calm for the time being.”
Massa faces legal challenge ahead of F1’s 2023 summer break, claiming he has not only lost millions of dollars in income but also suffered “moral” and “reputational” damage due to his world championship loss. I started moving towards it.
“From the time of my first interview, I have said that I am here to be recognized as world champion,” he told PlanetF1.com in November 2023.
“This is the most important thing to me. This is our goal and my goal to fight to the end to be recognized as the 2008 world champion.”
On August 15, Massa’s lawyers contacted both current F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali and FIA president Mohamed Ben Sulayem in a pre-complaint letter, setting out details of the legal challenge and announcing that both organizations Massa claimed to be a “victim of a conspiracy” in 2008, as requested. To avoid scandal.
Massa received responses to his original letter from both the FIA and F1 management, but a formal response was not possible due to the absence of key personnel during F1’s annual summer break in August, and more I was disappointed when I was informed that I would need more time.
This has led to back-and-forth over setting a deadline for bringing the matter to the UK High Court. The deadline was November 15, 2023.
Almost four months after that deadline, Massa’s lawyers filed a lawsuit in the UK High Court.
Massa is represented by a British barrister Nick De Marco KC and kendra pottsdirected by Richard Levett and Daniel Levy (Enyo Law LLP).
Full team also includes: Bernardo Viana (Vieira Rezende Advogados), Antonio J. Perez-Marquez (Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP) Michele Bernasconi (Bear & Color), and Olivier Loison (Gide Loiret Noël).
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