Massa vows to take $82m 2008 title case “to the very end” as High Court date nears
Felipe Massa is taking his 2008 heartbreak from the paddock to the courtroom, with the Brazilian doubling down on his $82 million legal claim ahead of an October 28 hearing at London’s High Court.
Sixteen years after losing the championship by a single point to Lewis Hamilton at his home race in São Paulo, Massa says he’ll pursue the case until he gets what he calls a “just and fair outcome.” The former Ferrari driver is targeting Formula One Management, the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone over the sport’s handling of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix — the race at the centre of the “Crashgate” scandal — and the ripple effects that followed.
Massa’s case hinges on the argument that F1’s leadership knew, during the 2008 season, that Nelson Piquet Jr’s crash in Singapore had been orchestrated to help Renault teammate Fernando Alonso. In a 2023 interview, Ecclestone suggested he and then-FIA president Max Mosley were aware of the true circumstances at the time but chose not to act to avoid “a huge scandal.” Massa contends that silence tainted a championship fight decided by the thinnest of margins. The defendants deny the claims.
On that controversial night in Singapore, Massa was leading when Piquet Jr hit the wall. The race unraveled for the Ferrari driver, who finished out of the points in 13th — a result that loomed large when the title went down to the wire in Brazil weeks later.
“Accountability is key to preventing future fraud,” Massa told The Times, adding that those “entrusted with protecting the sport directly violated their duties.” He went on: “Such conduct is unacceptable in any sphere of life, especially in a sport followed by millions, including children. We will pursue this to the very end in order to achieve a just and fair outcome — for myself, for motorsport in Brazil, and for the sport as a whole.”
Massa, represented by Nick De Marco KC, isn’t asking a court to rewrite the record books. Instead, he’s seeking damages — up to $82 million — for what he argues was a lost title and the commercial and sporting fallout that came with it. Hamilton, notably, isn’t a defendant in the action.
The timing gives this long-running saga a fresh edge. Hamilton, the seven-time champion who prevailed in 2008, now races in Ferrari red in 2025 — the team Massa once came within a few heartbeats of delivering a world crown. The legal fight isn’t with Hamilton, but there’s no missing the optics as F1 revisits one of its most combustible chapters while its most decorated driver pilots a scarlet car.
What happens next is likely to be methodical rather than dramatic. The High Court hearing at the end of October will set the parameters: what evidence can be put forward, which legal issues will take precedence, and how the timeline of events is assessed. This is complex territory, and any resolution — one way or another — won’t land overnight.
Still, the stakes are obvious. If Massa persuades the court that F1’s leadership knew in 2008 what only became public the following year, it will raise uncomfortable questions about governance and transparency at the top of the sport. If the court finds otherwise, this may mark the end of a painful chapter that’s lingered for more than a decade.
For now, Massa’s message is simple: he’s not backing down. The paddock has heard that line before; next month, we’ll see how it sounds in a courtroom.
