The long-standing legal battle concerning Felipe Massa’s 2008 Formula 1 World Championship loss is finally set to unfold later this year, with proceedings scheduled between October 28-31. The Brazilian former F1 driver, who hung up his racing gloves in 2017, has been seeking justice for a title he believes was unfairly snatched away from him.
The hearings will be held in London and will involve key players from Formula One Management (FOM) and the International Automobile Federation (FIA), as well as former FOM boss Bernie Ecclestone, who will celebrate his 95th birthday during the proceedings. The crux of Massa’s case revolves around the controversial 2008 season finale in Brazil, where he was pipped to the championship title by Lewis Hamilton in a heart-stopping conclusion.
On that fateful day, Massa, racing on home soil, crossed the finish line victorious, seemingly having amassed enough points to secure his first-ever championship. However, Hamilton, then racing for McLaren, maneuvered a last-corner overtake of a decelerating Timo Glock, a move that secured him a fifth-place finish and enough points to clinch his maiden championship.
The contention, however, lies not in Brazil but in the outcome of the Singapore Grand Prix earlier that year. The race was won by Fernando Alonso of Renault, following a strategic use of a Safety Car period initiated by a crash involving his teammate, Nelson Piquet Jr. The crash, later found to be a deliberate act orchestrated by Renault in a scandal known as Crashgate, led to team manager Flavio Briatore receiving a ban, subsequently overturned.
The Crashgate incident has elicited a fresh wave of controversy following an interview in 2023 with Ecclestone by F1-Insider. Ecclestone claimed that he and the then-FIA President, Max Mosley, possessed “enough information” to launch a probe into the incident. He further suggested that, based on the existing rules, the Singapore race should have been annulled, implying that Massa, not Hamilton, should have been crowned the champion.
During the Singapore Grand Prix, Massa was leading at the time of Piquet’s deliberate crash. However, a bungled pitstop during the Safety Car period relegated him to a 13th-place finish, while Hamilton secured a third-place finish. This six-point swing turned out to be a decisive factor in the final championship standings.
Ecclestone’s comments, despite his later retraction, have provided the impetus for Massa’s legal challenge. The former F1 driver argues that the unlawful manipulation of the Singapore race outcome compromised his rightful shot at the World Championship. As we wait for the legal engines to rev up later this year, the case promises to cast new light on one of the most contentious seasons in Formula 1 history.
