15 years after the “crashgate” and Interlagos, Felipe Massa demands compensation
A lawsuit for over 10 million euros has been filed by Felipe Massa's lawyers, 15 years after he narrowly missed out on the title by one point and the "crashgate" incident in Singapore.
The agency Reuters reports that Felipe Massa, through his lawyers, has filed a lawsuit against Formula 1 executives and the FIA to seek damages following an alleged conspiracy that deprived him of the championship title in 2008.
A letter of complaint explains that the Brazilian was deprived of his title by actions at the highest level that cost him tens of millions of euros in lost earnings and bonuses.
15 years ago. November 2, 2008, Interlagos, Lewis Hamilton has a 7-point lead over Felipe Massa and only needs a fifth place to secure his first title. The Brazilian keeps hope alive of becoming world champion in front of his home crowd. Massa is on pole with his Ferrari, Hamilton is 4th on the grid behind the wheel of his McLaren Mercedes. The driver from São Paulo wins the Grand Prix, but the general jubilation turns into despair when Brazilian fans, Ferrari teams, and Massa realize that Hamilton has taken 5th place from Timo Glock. Felipe loses the championship by 1 point.
Over 10 million euros in compensation
« Mr. Massa is the rightful 2008 champion driver and F1 and FIA intentionally ignored the incident that deprived him of the title, according to the letter from the lawyers of the former 42-year-old driver. Because besides the iconic ending at Interlagos, what poses a problem in the case is the infamous Singapore scandal. Renault had premeditated the accident of their driver Nelson Piquet Jr. on the 14th lap to favor the victory of their teammate Fernando Alonso.
Under the Safety Car, most drivers take advantage of it to pit and Massa loses time by leaving with his fuel hose still attached. He finished this GP in 13th place, without scoring any points, while Hamilton scored 6 points.
Recently, former Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone revealed that he and the then-president of the FIA, Max Mosley, were aware of this deliberate strategy by Renault. Now, Felipe Massa wants compensation that could amount to over 10 million euros.
The letter of complaint was sent to the current president of the FIA, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, as well as to the head of Formula 1, Stefano Domenicali, according to Reuters.
