F1 given new deadline by Felipe Massa’s lawyers – who label Lewis Hamilton title a ‘sham’

Exclusive: Massa’s legal team insist they will do ‘everything they can to bring the trophy home to Brazil and Italy’ as they push F1 and the FIA for a response over the 2008 ‘Crashgate’ scandal and an ‘alleged conspiracy’

Formula 1 and the FIA have been given until 12 October to respond to allegations from Felipe Massa’s lawyers of a “conspiracy” regarding the 2008 F1 title – with the Brazilian’s legal team accepting a request to extend the deadline for a formal response, The Independent has learned.

Massa is seeking substantial damages following the 2008 ‘Crashgate’ scandal and the subsequent impact it had on that year’s championship, won by Lewis Hamilton on the final lap of the final race as the then-Ferrari driver Massa missed out by a single point.

New comments earlier this year, by former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, about the scandal in Singapore has encouraged Massa to take legal action, with his lawyers sending an eight-page ‘Letter Before Claim’ to F1 and the FIA in August, alleging their client was the “victim of a conspiracy”.

The letter, from London-based Enyo Law, set a request for a reply of 14 days but, after responses from F1 and the FIA indicated that two weeks did not present enough time for a suitable reply, Massa’s legal team set a new deadline of 4pm on Friday 8 September for an adequate response to the matter at hand. Should no response be received, his lawyers “anticipated being instructed to file claims in the UK High Court”.

However, Massa’s lawyer Bernardo Viana told The Independent: “We have offered FIA and FOM [Formula One Management] an extension on the deadline to provide a formal response on this matter. We look forward to hearing from them by Oct. 12.”

In addition, in quotes obtained by The Independent, Viana stated: “the sport has had years to rectify the sham that Felipe, Brazil and Italy have endured… enough is enough, there is zero patience left.”

He adds: “Felipe won the ninth championship for Brazil and the 16th for Ferrari. We will do everything we can to bring the trophy home to Brazil and Italy.”

Formula 1 and the FIA declined to comment when approached by The Independent.

Ecclestone revealed in March that both he and then-FIA president Max Mosley knew of the ‘Crashgate’ scandal in 2008 but refused to publicise the chain of events to avoid the sport a “huge scandal”.

Ecclestone, 92, has since said he could not remember saying the key lines, telling Reuters: “I don’t remember any of this, to be honest. I don’t remember giving the interview for sure.”

Felipe Massa is on the cusp of taking legal action over the 2008 F1 title won by Lewis Hamilton (Getty Images)

The new letter, addressed to F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali, states: “Liberty Media, the owner of F1, has made public disclosures acknowledging the potential material adverse impact on its own shareholders of a scandal that undermines the credibility of the sport.

“Mr Ecclestone’s comments from earlier this year revealed precisely such a scandal, which underscores the need for Liberty Media and F1 to act promptly and diligently in responding to the serious issues that Mr Massa has raised.”

It added that “if acting reasonably, an investigation would have been initiated when this became public some five months ago”.

The original letter in August says that Massa has lost out on tens of millions of euros in lost earnings and bonuses as a result of missing out on the 2008 title.

WHAT WAS CRASHGATE?

Crashgate rocked the sport when the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix saw Renault’s Fernando Alonso win the race before it emerged that his teammate Nelson Piquet Jr had deliberately crashed on the instructions of his team to bring out a safety car that played into Alonso’s hands.

That safety car prompted a Massa pit stop that Ferrari mishandled, with Massa eventually finishing the race 13th while Hamilton came home third – a difference of six points, a swing that ultimately impacted the title result.

While Renault and team boss Flavio Briatore were punished in 2009, the result of the race stood despite Massa’s protestations, with the FIA’s statutes making clear that overturning the classification from each season is impossible once the FIA Awards Ceremony for that year is complete, a rule set in the FIA International Sporting Code.

Crashgate was a 2008 scandal that rocked Formula 1 (PA)

The new furore surrounding the 2008 title was triggered after Ecclestone told F1-Insider earlier this year: “We wanted to protect the sport and save it from a huge scandal. That’s why I used angelic tongues to persuade my former driver Nelson Piquet to keep calm for the time being.

“Back then, there was a rule that a world championship classification after the FIA ​​awards ceremony at the end of the year was untouchable. So Hamilton was presented with the trophy and everything was fine.

“We had enough information in time to investigate the matter. According to the statutes, we should have cancelled the race in Singapore under these conditions.

“That means it would never have happened for the championship standings. And then Felipe Massa would have become world champion and not Lewis Hamilton.”

Bernie Ecclestone (left) admitted that he knew what happened with Crashgate before it was made public (Getty Images)

Massa told Italian outlet TG1 this week that he “expects help from Ferrari” in his case, though has not yet received support from the Italian team.

Hamilton, when asked about the matter before last month’s Dutch Grand Prix, remained tight-lipped. “I’ve got a really bad memory,” he said. “I’m really just focused on the here and now and helping the team get back to the championship. I’m not focused on what happened 15 years ago.”

Despite the threat of legal action, Massa does not seem to be able to officially overturn the result – with the FIA’s own International Sporting Code stating protests and reviews expire 14 days after a competition and four days prior to that year’s prize-giving ceremony.

He also cannot use the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which has no jurisdiction over the FIA on issues like this, with the independent International Court of Appeal the highest authority in the sport.

CAS may only be involved in F1 matters relating to the FIA’s Anti-Doping Disciplinary Committee.

Massa’s best finish in F1 turned out to be that 2008 season as he retired in 2017, while Hamilton has gone on to win six more titles with Mercedes, holding the joint-record of seven F1 World Championships with Michael Schumacher.

Updated 11 September 2023