Former Ferrari driver Massa was suing for a declaration that he should have won the 2008 championship, which he lost to Lewis Hamilton by a single point
International News via Reuters:
Part of Felipe Massa’s lawsuit against Formula One, its ex-boss Bernie Ecclestone and the governing FIA over the 2008 world championship can continue, London’s High Court ruled on Thursday.
Former Ferrari driver Massa was suing for a declaration that he should have won the 2008 championship, which he lost to Lewis Hamilton by a single point, and is seeking around 64 million pounds ($85.9 million) plus interest.
His case turns on the “crashgate” scandal at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, which Massa was leading from pole position when fellow Brazilian Nelson Piquet Jr crashed to try and help his Renault team mate Fernando Alonso, who won the race.
Piquet in 2009 revealed he had been ordered to crash by team bosses, who were subsequently banned. Massa’s lawyers say Ecclestone already knew the crash was deliberate and Ecclestone and then-FIA president Max Mosley failed to investigate it.
Judge Robert Jay ruled that Massa’s claims for inducement of breach of contract could continue, saying in a summary of his ruling that Massa arguably did not know he could sue until a 2023 interview with Ecclestone.
But the judge rejected his case that the FIA breached its duty to investigate and dismissed his claim for a declaration, saying in his summary that “the court cannot be asked to rewrite the outcome of the 2008 Drivers’ World Championship”.
Reporting by Sam Tobin; editing by Sarah Young
