Felipe Massa stopped by in 2008

The famous former Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa filed a lawsuit in London. The defendants are the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), Formula One Management (FOM), which represents the owners of Formula 1 commercial rights, and personally the former general manager of the racing series, Bernie Ecclestone. Mr. Massa is demanding that the defendants admit that their illegal actions led to him being stripped of his 2008 world title, and also pay him large compensation for lost earnings – at least $82 million.

Brazilian law firm Vieira Rezende Advogados reported, which filed a lawsuit in a London court on behalf of its client, the famous former Formula 1 racer Felipe Massa. The defendants are the key structures in the management of Formula 1 – the FIA ​​and FOM, as well as former general manager of the series Bernie Ecclestone.

Felipe Massa demands that the plaintiffs admit that the FIA, with the complicity of FOM and Mr Ecclestone, violated its own rules by failing to properly investigate the Nelson Piquet Jr. case.

If the investigation had been carried out in accordance with the regulations, the plaintiff believes, he would have become the world champion in 2008. The driver also demands compensation for “significant financial losses” incurred as a result of the fact that he was stripped of his title. According to the agency AP, the minimum amount that the Brazilian agrees to is $82 million. It includes lost bonuses, as well as lost contracts with advertisers. And the portal Motorsport.com believes that if the Brazilian’s claim is satisfied, the compensation could reach $190 million. But this is if the court very highly assesses the moral damage caused to the racer.

The Nelson Pique Jr. case, which formed the basis of the lawsuit, became public in 2009. Then it turned out that the outcome of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix was influenced by the malicious actions of the Renault team management. Piquet, who competed for the French stable, admitted after his dismissal that he intentionally crashed into the bump stop on the 16th lap. Piquet hit the wall in such a place that it was impossible to avoid the appearance of the safety car on the track. The riders, taking advantage of the moment, rushed to the pits to change tires and refuel. Among them was the leader Massa. The Brazilian, however, was unlucky: Ferrari mechanics gave him a signal to leave too early, without having time to remove the filling hose, he rushed, broke the hose, stopped at the end of the pit lane, waited for the staff to reach him and disconnect the hose. As a result, Massa fell out of the points zone and earned nothing in Singapore. But Renault leader Fernando Alonso, who started from 15th place, became first because he made his pit stop a couple of laps before the rigged accident.

Nelson Piquet Jr said he was ordered to hit the wall to give Alonso the advantage by Renault boss Flavio Briatore and team chief engineer Pat Symonds. An FIA investigation confirmed the driver’s words, Briatore and Symonds were disqualified. Renault got off with a suspended sentence, but Alonso was not injured. The loss of ten points in Singapore came back to haunt Massa at the last stage of the season – in Brazil. He won it and even managed to be a virtual world champion for half a minute. But Lewis Hamilton (then racing for McLaren) at the last moment managed to climb to the fourth place he needed and seized the title.

After the conspiracy was revealed, the Brazilian asked Ferrari management to do something, but was refused. Third-party lawyers also did not take up the case, pointing out that FIA rules actually prohibit reviewing the results of competitions after they have been declared official.

Everything changed last spring, when Bernie Ecclestone suddenly said in an interview with F1 Insider that both he and FIA President Max Mosley knew what the Renault bosses had done during the 2008 season, but decided not to do anything. “If we had adhered to the regulations, the results of the Singapore race should have been annulled. Then it would not be Hamilton who would become the champion, but Massa,” said Bernie Ecclestone. True, later Mr. Ecclestone, and he is already 93 years old, said that he did not remember that interview at all. It is noteworthy that he said this several months later, when it became clear that the matter was heading to litigation.

The defendants had a chance to avoid it by settling the case out of court. In August last year, Massa sent an official complaint to FIA President Mohammed bin Sulayem and Formula 1 head Stefano Domenicali, in which he reported disagreement with the results of the 2008 World Championship. But the Brazilian never received an answer, which, as his lawyers said in a statement, left him no choice but to go to court. The FIA ​​and FOM have not yet commented on the incident. And Bernie Ecclestone, whose talkativeness led to the scandal, said The Guardianthat it’s even good that Massa filed a lawsuit. “If he had asked my opinion, I would have said that this is absolutely the right step. Let the English judge decide what is right and what is wrong. “I have absolutely no idea how this will end,” said Mr. Ecclestone.

Alexander Petrov