Felipe Massa’s case is officially being heard in court.
Preliminary hearings regarding his case against the FIA, Formula One Management, and former F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone concerning the 2008 title, specifically the ‘Crashgate’ scandal that he claims cost him the championship, will be held in a London high court this week, a year after his lawsuit was filed. Massa is challenging a world championship decision from 17 years ago, an unprecedented move in F1.
The purpose of the hearings will be to determine whether the case will proceed to discovery and a trial. The three defending parties are seeking to strike out the claim so it doesn’t go to a full hearing.
Here’s a recap of how we got here, why it matters and what will take place this week in court.
‘Crashgate’ and its aftermath
During the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, Nelson Piquet Jr. crashed at Turn 17 of the Marina Bay Street Circuit, one of the few spots around the track where debris cleanup is challenging, which triggered a series of events that helped his teammate, Fernando Alonso, win the race. Massa, though, finished outside the points following a disastrous pit stop and eventually lost the world championship by one point to Lewis Hamilton.
Piquet Jr.’s crash was initially labeled as a mistake, but the following season, Nelson Piquet Sr. told the FIA, motorsport’s world governing body, that “the crash was deliberate,” according to the letter before claim (a formal legal notice sent to a potential defendant) from Massa’s legal team. In July 2009, Piquet Jr. also informed the governing body that Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds, high-ranking Renault team members at the time, told him to crash, according to the letter.
Nelson Piquet Jr. arrives at the FIA’s Paris headquarters for his hearing in 2009. (Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images)
An investigation ensued, and Renault leadership was punished. But the probe came too late to impact the result, given the awards were already handed out at the end-of-season prize-giving gala. The controversy fell quiet, becoming another chapter in F1’s lengthy history — until 2023.
A March 2023 story by F1-insider.com featured quotes from Ecclestone claiming that he and then-FIA president Max Mosley were told the wreck was intentional soon enough that they had “enough information in time to investigate the matter.” But the former F1 boss, who was 92 at the time of these quotes, five months later told Reuters he didn’t recall giving the interview or those quotes. He has since claimed the quotes were misconstrued due to a language barrier with the German publication.
Massa assessed his legal options. Under UK law, it is usual to write a letter before claim before filing a lawsuit, and the Brazilian driver’s legal team sent the letter to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem and F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali in August 2023. A lawsuit was later filed in March 2024, and one key part of the particulars of claim (which sets out the claimant’s case) detailed that “at or around the time of the Brazilian Grand Prix, (race director) Charlie Whiting informed Mosley, and Whiting and/or Mosley informed Ecclestone, that Piquet Sr had told Whiting that Piquet Jr crashed deliberately at the Singapore GP on the instructions of the Renault team.”
Throughout the process, the defendants have denied the claims.
Why this case matters
This legal challenge is an unprecedented move, as Massa is essentially seeking to rewrite F1 history. He isn’t explicitly seeking to overturn the results, but he is seeking over $80 million in damages, among other matters. Additionally, Massa is seeking “a declaration that the FIA acted in breach of its own regulations in failing to promptly investigate the circumstances of the crash in 2008” as well as “a declaration that if the FIA had not acted in breach of its own regulations, it would have cancelled or adjusted the results of the Singapore Grand Prix with the consequence that Massa would have won the drivers’ championship in 2008.”
But the years that have passed since the incident, regardless of Ecclestone’s alleged quotes in 2023, are hard to ignore. Has too much time passed to reopen this situation? During a spring 2024 interview with The Athletic, Bernardo Viana, one of Massa’s lawyers, felt this all still carried importance.
“We are not far from scandals — so many recently, on and off the track — and the current decision-making and governance framework is clearly not equipped to deal with the challenges modern competition and the new generation of fans require.
“What can we expect when there is another competitive season? Do we trust our current framework to prevent another scandal?”
What to expect from this week
This week’s proceedings are essentially a reverse summary judgment / strike out by F1, Formula One Management and Ecclestone. The goal is to stop the case from going to a full hearing. Typically, in court, opening arguments are presented and testimony as well as evidence are presented.
But the proceedings may be slightly different this week, with arguments focused on whether the case merits a full hearing in the future.
Then, everyone will wait for the decision.