Former F1 driver Felipe Massa has been accused of making “a catalogue of errors” that ruined his own race in Singapore in 2008 on the first day of the Brazilian’s $128.4 million legal claim in the British High Court.

Massa is seeking damages for loss of earnings and sponsorship against long-time F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One Management and motorsport governing body the FIA to reopen the result of the 2008 world championship over the infamous “Crashgate” scandal.

The 44-year-old former Sauber, Williams and Ferrari driver has long argued that he was the true champion in 2008 despite losing the title by a point to Lewis Hamilton.

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That year’s Singapore Grand Prix forms the backbone of this legal dispute.

Massa was leading the race when Renault instructed driver Nelson Piquet Jr to deliberately crash to create a safety car and help his teammate Fernando Alonso.

The Spaniard had made an early pit stop, and the safety car allowed him to overtake his rivals, who eventually had to pit under safety car conditions.

Alonso went on to win the race, while Massa finished 13th and dropped points in the championship race.

A year later after he was dumped by Renault, Piquet admitted that he crashed under instructions from team boss Flavio Briatore and technical director Pat Symonds.

That pair were then investigated with Briatore copping a permanent ban from the sport and Symonds was hit with a five-year suspension.

Although, in an interview in 2023, Ecclestone suggested that F1’s executives knew of Renault’s controversial tactic before the 2008 season ended.

That led to Massa bringing the legal claim for breach of contract or duty, and his lawyers are arguing that Ecclestone and the FIA failed to investigate despite knowing the crash was deliberate.

Massa is also seeking declarations that the FIA breached its own regulations, and that the organisation should have cancelled or adjusted the results from Singapore, meaning he would have won the drivers’ championship.

Brazilian Formula One driver Felipe Massa arrives outside the Royal Courts Of Justice, London, where he is taking legal action against Formula One Management Limited, the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone over the 2008 world championship, in which he lost out to Lewis Hamilton by a single point following the ‘Crashgate’ scandal at that year’s Singapore Grand Prix, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025. (James Manning/PA via AP)Source: AP

The defendants pushed to have the case thrown out however, saying Ecclestone does not remember such an interview.

They also argued that Massa’s claim was “misguided”, “overly ambitious” and “conspicuously overlooked a catalogue of [Massa’s] own errors”.

Following Piquet’s crash, Massa made the mistake of driving away from a pit stop with a fuel hose still attacking to his Ferrari.

A member of the pit crew was knocked over as a result, and then Massa drove into the path of another car.

Ecclestone’s lawyer David Quest KC said in written submissions that Massa’s claims were “a misguided attempt to reopen the results of the 2008 F1 drivers’ championship”.

“Mr Massa argues that, but for the FIA’s handling of the crash, he would have won the drivers’ championship,” Quest continued.

“These declarations treat the court as a sports ‘debating club’, asking it to embark upon a counterfactual exercise concerning the ‘refereeing’ of a sporting event which took place nearly 17 years ago.”

SAO PAULO, BRAZIL – NOVEMBER 02: Championship rivals Felipe Massa (L) of Brazil and Ferrari and Lewis Hamilton (R) of Great Britain and McLaren Mercedes shake hands at the drivers end of year photo session prior to the Brazilian Formula One Grand Prix at the Interlagos Circuit on November 2, 2008 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. (Photo by Paul Gilham/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

Also in written submissions, Anneliese Day KC, for Formula One Management, reiterated that Massa’s own mistakes in Singapore were to blame.

“In truth, it was not the deployment of the safety car which changed the course of history for Mr Massa, but rather a series of subsequent racing errors by him and his team during the remaining 47 laps of the race,” Day wrote.

“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.”

The court hearing is set to finish on Friday UK time, with a ruling to come at a later date.