17 years down the track, retired Ferrari driver Felipe Massa takes Formula 1 to court over his 2008 title loss

Felipe Massa is suing F1 over the finish to the 2008 title fight.

The Brazilian driver claims he was ‘cheated’ out of the title.

His lawsuit hinges on a 2023 interview given by Bernie Ecclestone.

The former Ferrari driver has now taken his case to court.

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Felipe Massa swaps the track for the courtroom

Retired Scuderia Ferrari driver Felipe Massa is not happy.

As a matter of fact, the Brazilian is so unhappy that he is now in court.

He is suing Formula 1, Bernie Ecclestone, and the FIA in the High Court in London.

Massa has claimed that he was ‘cheated’ out of the 2008 Formula 1 world championship.

And he is seeking more than $82 million worth of damages.

The lawsuit has been brought against Formula One Management, the FIA, and motorsport magnate Bernie Ecclestone himself.

The story starts in Singapore…

At this point, you’re probably wondering what all of this is actually about.

In order to explain, we have to go all the way back to the 2008 Formula 1 season.

Lewis Hamilton was driving for McLaren-Mercedes, whilst Felipe Massa was plying his trade for Scuderia Ferrari.

The pair traded wins back and forth throughout the course of the season.

But it is the Singapore Grand Prix where our story begins.

2008 saw the first-ever Singapore Grand Prix staged – and the first F1 race at night.

But the controversy doesn’t actually concern either Hamilton or Massa.

Instead, it actually centers around the now-defunct Renault F1 team.

Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet Jr were the drivers for the team.

And the outfit was led by the polarising and enigmatic Flavio Briatore.

Renault endured a terrible qualifying session, leaving Alonso and Piquet Jr in 15th and 16th on the grid.

Before the race, Alonso opted to go for a lighter fuel load in order to get past the cars ahead.

Lap 12 saw Alonso pit for fuel and tires – nothing out of the ordinary, then.

But it was Lap 14 that would become one of the darkest episodes in F1 history.

Alonso’s teammate, Nelson Piquet Jr, crashed his Renault into the wall at Turn 17.

And the crash brought out the safety car onto the track – with Fernando Alonso benefitting.

One of the drivers to lose out was – you guessed it – Ferrari’s Felipe Massa.

After leaving the pit lane with a fuel hose still attached, as well as accidentally running over a team member, Massa found himself stuck way down in the order.

Because of the advantage of pitting early, Alonso went on to win the Singapore Grand Prix.

Even more significantly, Lewis Hamilton managed to finish the race in third, extending his lead over Massa to seven points.

The English driver won the title three races later by a single point in Sao Paolo – after overtaking Timo Glock on the last corner of the last lap.

‘Crashgate’ scandal blows up in a big way

Naturally, Felipe Massa was more than a little upset.

But why did a seemingly accidental crash lead to an enormous lawsuit nearly 20 years later?

Well, it’s because that accidental crash was no accident.

The following year (in 2009), Renault released Nelson Piquet Jr.

Piquet later admitted that he had been ordered to crash in order to give Alonso the advantage.

This all eventually led to an enormous scandal known as ‘Crashgate’.

The entire sport was marred in disgrace, and Renault F1 was nearly thrown out of F1 entirely.

Flavio Briatore was eventually given an indefinite ban from the sport.

But the worst was yet to come.

Did F1 know the truth all along?

In 2023, former F1 commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone sat down for an interview with F1 Insider.

And the motorsport executive made the bombshell claim that he had known the truth behind ‘Crashgate’.

Bernie Ecclestone admitted that Massa had been cheated out of the 2008 F1 title.

“Max Mosley and I were informed during the 2008 season what had happened in the race in Singapore,” he recalled.

“Piquet Junior had told his father Nelson that he had been asked by the team to drive into the wall at a certain point in order to trigger a Safety Car phase and such to help his team-mate Alonso.”

“Piquet Junior was worried about his contract extension, so he was under a lot of pressure and agreed.

“We decided not to do anything for now. 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.”

He also claimed that Lewis Hamilton had gotten “lucky”.

Does Felipe Massa have a case?

Fast-forward to today, and this is where things stand.

Massa claims the interview proves that he was cheated out of being the rightful champion.

In a pre-trial hearing, Nick de Marco KC, representing Massa, claimed that F1’s authorities “deliberately conspired together” to conceal the truth of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

Lawyers for Ecclestone, F1, and the FIA have a very different view.

They claim that Massa performed poorly in the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, ultimately leading to him losing the championship, and added that the claim had been brought too late.

Their argument centers around Massa not bringing a case back in 2008 or 2009.

In written submissions, Ecclestone’s lawyer, David Quest KC, said Massa’s claims ‘are a misguided attempt to reopen the results of the 2008 F1 drivers’ championship’.

But Massa’s argument is that he never knew the truth behind ‘Crashgate’.

De Marco has claimed that Mr Ecclestone’s 2023 interview was the first time that the full extent of the alleged cover-up emerged.

The hearing in the High Court in London is expected to conclude today (Friday).

A ruling is expected at a later date.