Felipe Massa reacts as decide offers verdict on $82M lawsuit

Felipe Massa’s long-running bid to problem the dealing with of the 2008 F1 World Championship cleared its largest hurdle on Thursday. The English Excessive Courtroom confirmed that his lawsuit in opposition to the FIA, Method One Administration, and Bernie Ecclestone will proceed to a full trial.

The choice got here after a three-day listening to in October, throughout which the court docket examined whether or not Massa’s claims had sufficient benefit to maneuver ahead. The previous Ferrari driver is searching for $82 million in damages, arguing that the governing our bodies didn’t act on proof associated to the Singapore “Crashgate” race-fixing scandal.

Massa reacted inside hours of the ruling, posting an in depth message on social media to say that the judgment was a serious step in his battle. He wrote on X:

“It is a great victory – an important day for me, for justice, and for everybody who loves Method 1. The court docket has seen the energy of my case and refused to let the defendants silence the reality about 2008… I’m extra decided and assured than ever. Justice will probably be performed. For me, for Brazilians, for the tifosi, for all motorsport followers who deserve an sincere sport, and for the way forward for Method 1.”

The ruling brings his case to a essential stage greater than 15 years after the occasions that formed the unique controversy. Within the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, Nelson Piquet Jr. crashed early within the race, which introduced the security automobile out, which finally helped Fernando Alonso win.

Felipe Massa noticed his race collapse after a botched pit cease below warning left him with the gas hose connected. He completed outdoors the factors, whereas Lewis Hamilton’s third place gave him six factors that proved decisive within the closing standings.

A 12 months later, Piquet Jr. and his father knowledgeable the FIA that the crash had been deliberate and carried out below group orders. The governing physique started an investigation that led to penalties for Renault’s management. By that point, the championship outcomes have been locked in, and below FIA guidelines, the standings couldn’t be revisited.

The matter remained settled till 2023, when Ecclestone’s interview feedback steered that the FIA might have identified concerning the race manipulation earlier than the 2008 prize ceremony. These remarks prompted Felipe Massa’s attorneys to challenge a letter of declare, arguing that the dearth of motion disadvantaged him of a good end result. With responses from the FIA and FOM deemed inadequate, the case was formally filed in 2024 and now advances towards trial after Thursday’s determination.

Justice Jay’s ruling and why declaratory aid was denied for Felipe Massa

Felipe Massa’s case rests on claims that the defendants failed to use their very own rules, which precipitated monetary injury. His authorized group maintains that the FIA ought to have investigated the Singapore crash earlier than the season ended, and that annulment of the race would have modified the 2008 title.

The court docket, nonetheless, drew a transparent boundary on the kind of end result it may supply. In his written judgment, Justice Robert Jay stated that whereas Felipe Massa had “an actual prospect of proving at trial all of the elements of his illegal means conspiracy,” he couldn’t pursue declarations that implied he ought to have been world champion. Jay wrote, through The Guardian:

“The current declare can not… rewrite the end result of the 2008 drivers’ world championship, but when declaratory aid alongside the strains sought have been granted that’s how Mr Massa would current his victory to the world and it’s also how it might be perceived by the general public… the declaration comes too shut in my opinion to impinging on the precise of the FIA to control its personal affairs.”

The decide concluded that declaratory aid had no sensible function as a result of the FIA, as a world physique, was not sure to simply accept such findings. He additionally made it clear that the court docket wouldn’t assist measures aimed toward reputational or symbolic correction.

Throughout the October listening to, Ecclestone’s authorized group argued that Felipe Massa’s lawsuit was an try to reopen a settled championship and described the declare as misguided. The FIA referred to as the go well with overly bold and stated that it had ignored Massa’s errors within the race.

The case will now transfer into its subsequent part, the place proof, testimony, and the complete chain of occasions main again to the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix will probably be examined in court docket.