Felipe Massa officially filed a complaint against the FIA to be compensated

According to Massa’s representatives, the action was brought before the “High Court of Justice” because the Brazilian, who missed out on the F1 world championship title in 2008 to the driver at the time for McLaren, Lewis Hamilton, believes that the result of the Marina Bay race should be annulled and therefore the championship should rightfully be his.

In an unsportsmanlike manner at the time, Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr deliberately caused an accident to trigger a safety car, thus allowing his teammate Fernando Alonso to win the race. Hamilton finished second, while Massa failed to score points after a botched pit stop where he drove off with the fuel hose still attached.

In an interview last year, Ecclestone said there was enough information available at the time for the case to be investigated and the result annulled. However, the former F1 boss later stated that he did not remember giving this interview.

According to a statement from the Brazilian law firm Vieira Rezende Advogados, Mr. Massa seeks to obtain statements alleging that the FIA violated its regulations by failing to promptly investigate Nelson Piquet Junior’s accident during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix and that if it had acted correctly, Mr. Massa would have won the Drivers’ Championship that year.

« Mr. Massa also requests damages for the significant financial loss he suffered as a result of the negligence of the FIA, in which Mr. Ecclestone and the FOM were also complicit.

« As admitted by Mr. Ecclestone, there was “enough information in time to investigate the case” in 2008 and “cancel the race in Singapore”. Mr. Ecclestone also claimed that if the results of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix had been cancelled, « Felipe Massa would have become world champion, « and that Mr. Massa was deprived of the title he deserved. » continues the statement.

Massa’s legal team had asked questions to the FIA and FOM, but the answers were delayed by the summer break of the 2023 season, when the staff capable of responding was not available.

The statement continues: « Attempts to reach an amicable resolution have been unsuccessful, leaving Mr. Massa no other choice but to pursue legal action. »

The FIA is also under the spotlight after a whistleblower claimed that the president of the governing body, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, attempted to intervene in the outcome of the 2023 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to overturn a penalty imposed on Alonso so that his team, Aston Martin, would not have touched the car prematurely during a pit stop.

It is also supposed that Ben Sulayem tried to prevent the urban circuit of Las Vegas from being approved in time for last year’s flagship race.

The recent events naturally demonstrate that transparency and integrity issues in Formula 1 remain relevant, and it is clear that serious work is needed to restore its credibility and long-term future, the statement concluded.

According to information obtained by Autosport in particular, Massa is claiming for compensation ranging from 70 to 175 million euros.