A High Court judge has ruled that former Formula One driver Felipe Massa's £64 million legal claim can proceed to trial. The Brazilian is challenging the outcome of the 2008 F1 world championship, arguing he is the rightful winner instead of Lewis Hamilton.
Massa lost the title by a single point after Nelson Piquet Jr deliberately crashed at the Singapore Grand Prix. Bernie Ecclestone, who ran F1 for four decades until 2017, suggested in 2023 that sport executives were aware of the cover-up before the 2008 season concluded.
The defendants—Ecclestone, the FIA, and Formula One Management—attempted to dismiss the case last month. They argued that Massa performed poorly in Singapore and that he had brought the claim too late.
Mixed Ruling on Legal Grounds
In a written judgment handed down on Thursday, Mr Justice Jay allowed the case to proceed but dismissed parts of Massa's claim. He said Massa had "no real prospect of establishing that the FIA's duties were owed to him" but that "he does have a real prospect of proving at trial all the components of his unlawful means conspiracy".
The judge rejected Massa's request for declaratory relief, which would have essentially declared him the rightful 2008 champion. Mr Justice Jay said such declarations would come "too close in my view to impinging on the right of the FIA to govern its own affairs". He noted that the FIA, as an international sporting body outside the court's reach, "could and would simply ignore any such declaration".
What Happened in 2008
At the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, Renault staged a win for Fernando Alonso by ordering Piquet to crash deliberately. The crash brought out a safety car, compromising Massa's strategy. He finished 13th after leading the race for Ferrari. The following season, Piquet revealed he had been under instruction to crash.
Massa's lawyers claim Ecclestone knew the crash was deliberate and that he and the FIA failed to investigate it. Nick De Marco KC, representing Massa, said his client had "a real prospect of succeeding on all of the grounds" and the matter should go to a full trial.
David Quest KC, for Ecclestone, called Massa's claims "a misguided attempt to reopen the results of the 2008 F1 drivers' championship". John Mehrzad KC, for the FIA, described the claim as "torturous as it is overly ambitious" and said it "conspicuously overlooks a catalogue of his own errors".
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
