Two years ago, Felipe Massa proclaimed he would take Formula 1 to court to prove he was cheated out of the 2008 Championship. Critics claimed he had no chance. However, this week the London High Court decided that Massa’s lawsuit against Formula 1 can proceed to trial after preliminary hearings.
In a nutshell, the former Ferrari driver launched a lawsuit against Formula 1, Bernie Ecclestone, and the FIA after learning that F1 boss Ecclestone and FIA President Max Mosley knew about the “Crashgate” scandal during the 2008 season. That was the cheating scandal in which the Renault F1 Team ordered their driver Nelson Piquet Jr to deliberately crash during the Singapore Grand Prix. This triggered a safety car, which allowed the off-sequence Renault F1 driver Fernando Alonso to take the lead, and subsequently the victory. Massa was leading that race, but scored no points after the race manipulation, while title rival Lewis Hamilton bagged 6 points. Massa went on to lose the 2008 championship by 1 point.
Ecclestone stated in a 2023 interview
“According to the statutes, we should have cancelled the race in Singapore under these conditions. That means it would never have happened for the World Championship standings. Then Felipe Massa would have become World Champion and not Lewis Hamilton”.
Massa deserves recognition as the rightful champion, and financial restitution since Ecclestone and Mosley deliberately covered up the cheating scandal.
During the preliminary hearing, Formula 1 used the courtroom to insult their great racer Felipe Massa, stating “The simple fact is that over the course of both the Singapore Grand Prix and across the 2008 season, Mr Hamilton outperformed Mr Massa and everyone else”. To enter such an irrelevant claim as their defence, one can only assume Formula 1 recognizes the futility of their position.
Undoubtedly, Massa was cheated in the 2008 season. The proper procedure would be to strike a ‘fixed race’ from the championship, but at the end of the season the trophies were already handed out and Hamilton declared the champion. Ecclestone’s claims that F1 and the FIA had knowledge of what occurred before the season was over changes the dynamic entirely. With the High Court stating Massa’s claims have a ‘real prospect of success’ the hope remains that an ugly chapter in Formula 1’s history can be corrected.
Massa’s statement after the hearings “Justice will be done.”
I had completely forgotten about this scandal. This should be an interesting trial.
I’m glad that Massa finally get’s his ‘day in court’ because he really did get cheated. Many of us didn’t realize it at the time… but the FIA and F1 bosses certainly knew.