Massa Legal Claims on 2008 F1 Title Face Court Dispute in London

Felipe Massa is suing Formula One Management, former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, and the FIA for £64 million, claiming he should have won the 2008 World Championship if not for the deliberate crash by Nelson Piquet Jr at the Singapore Grand Prix, known as the 'Crashgate' scandal. Massa argues that Ecclestone and the FIA knew about the intentional crash but failed to investigate, which affected the race outcome and ultimately the championship, lost by a single point to Lewis Hamilton. However, lawyers for Ecclestone, the FIA, and Formula One contend that Massa's own mistakes during the Singapore race, including a poor pitstop and driving errors, cost him the race and title, not the crash manipulation. They argue the case is a misguided attempt to rewrite history nearly 17 years later and that Hamilton was equally affected by the crash incident. Ecclestone's lawyer also claimed Ecclestone does not recall giving the interview where he admitted knowledge of the crashgate cover-up. The court is hearing arguments on whether Massa's claim should be dismissed due to being brought too late and based on a counterfactual interpretation of past events.