FIA defence claims Massa Crashgate case 'torturous as it is overly ambitious'

F1
October 29, 2025

The FIA's legal defence has slammed Felipe Massa’s 2008 title conspiracy claim as the 'Crashgate' hearing kicked off in London

Feliep Massa No1

The 'Crashgate' hearing has now begun

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October 29, 2025

The FIA’s legal representatives have come out with a fierce rebuttal in defence against Felipe Massa‘s claim that he lost the 2008 Formula 1 world title to a conspiracy, labelling it “as torturous as it is overly ambitious”, as well as being contradictory in saying the case isn’t about money.

The hearing began this week at London’s Royal Courts of Justice, with Mr Justice Jay KC hearing both claimant’s and defendants’ cases before a decision is made as to whether to proceed with a full hearing.

The former Ferrari driver has claimed that after the ‘Crashgate affair’, in which Nelson Piquet Jr deliberately crashed to engineer a situation to allow his team-mate Fernando Alonso to win the race, the ’08 drivers’ crown was wrongly awarded to Hamilton and that Massa should be recognised as the rightful champion, in addition to receiving £64m plus interest in damages.

The Brazilian’s case alleges that former FOM boss Bernie Ecclestone and late FIA president Max Mosley knew about Piquet Jr and his team members’ actions, but chose not to do anything about it.

Felipe Massa (Ferrari) leads Sebastien Bourdais (Toro Rosso) during Saturday practice for the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix

Massa during the 2008 Singapore GP

Grand Prix Photo

The hearing sees the Brazilian claim against the FIA, Formula One Management, and Bernie Ecclestone, who was head of FOM at that time.

The court first heard on Wednesday morning from a representative of Bernie Ecclestone’s legal defence, Mr David Quest KC, who set out his arguments against the Brazilian’s case, also asserting it was the Ferrari man’s driving that lost him the title, not ‘Crashgate’.

“By these proceedings Mr Massa seeks to establish through the courts he, not Lewis Hamilton, should be the 2008 champion,” he said.

“He claims in excess of £60 million. The facts of these proceedings is that at the Singapore Grand Prix, Mr Massa performed very poorly in that race: he finished in 13th place and scored zero points and that was largely due to errors he made during the pit stop, running over a member of his pit crew and then leaving the pits with the fuel hose still attached.

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“The race was also notable for what happened on lap 14, due to Mr Piquet crashing heavily at Turn 14, causing the safety car. That crash by Piquet was a deliberate ploy by Renault. Fernando Alonso had already pitted, and took advantage to win the race.

“Massa’s poor form, nor Hamilton’s strong form, weren’t related to the crash.”

Documents now available also further elucidate the FIA’s defence.

“Mr Massa’s claim is as torturous as it is overly ambitious,” it says. “The multi-millionaire Brazil national and resident brings a claim in this jurisdiction of England and Wales founded on an alleged breach of the supranational rulebook of the FIA, a private international sporting organisation domiciled in France, concerning events at and around the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix over 17 years ago, on 28 September 2008.

“Mr Massa’s claim conspicuously overlooks a catalogue of his own errors or those of his team, Ferrari, during the Singapore GP and at other GPs which contributed to his overall second place finish in the Drivers’ Championship that season.

The defence also points out what it says is a contradiction in the Brazilian’s claim that the case isn’t about money.

“By way of relief Mr Massa seeks currently £64,000,000; in damages, but his legal representative has publicly declared that the purpose of his claim is ‘not financial’.

Renault-F1-driver-Nelson-Piquet-Jr-at-the-2008-SIngapore-GP

Piquet revealed Singapore plan in 2009

Grand Prix Photo

“Rather, the practical aim of Mr Massa’s claim is a declaration that had the FIA not acted in alleged breach, “it would have cancelled or adjusted the results of the Singapore GP with the consequence that Mr Massa would have won the Drivers’ Championship in 2008”.

“Mr Massa himself has publicly declared that the ‘recognition as the 2008 Formula One Official World Champion, is something I have to fight for. So that is what I am doing.

“It may therefore come as no surprise that Mr Massa’s convoluted claim has stalled at various stages during this litigation, only then to reverse repeatedly in the hope of discovering a new route forward. Even now it is still not clear which legal ‘track’ he alights upon. Mr Massa is keeping his options open with a draft Re-Amended Particulars of Claim ready in the proverbial pit-lane – albeit he has not made an application to re-amend.”

The hearing continues in London.

Felipe Massa’s Crashgate trial

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