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6 hours ago
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The legal challenge by former Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa to revisit the controversial 2008 World Championship has been met with immediate and fierce resistance in the British High Court.
Defence lawyers representing the FIA, Formula One Management (FOM), and former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone applied for the case to be dismissed, labelling Massa’s claim as "torturous" and "overly ambitious."
The three-day preliminary hearing, which opened in London this week, centres on Massa’s assertion that he was unfairly denied the 2008 title due to the infamous “Crashgate” scandal at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Defence argues Felipe Massa's own errors cost him the title
Lawyers for the defendants immediately targeted Massa's performance in the Singapore race, which saw him lose the lead after a catastrophic pit stop under the safety car.
David Quest KC, representing Bernie Ecclestone, told the court: “Mr Massa performed very poorly in that race... He finished in 13th place and scored zero points and that was largely due to errors he made during the pit stop, running over a member of his pit crew and then leaving the pits with the fuel hose still attached.”
The defence teams argued that Lewis Hamilton, who won the title by a single point, was "equally exposed" to the chaos caused by the crash but avoided the same "driving mistakes."
£64 million claim questioned by the FIA
The FIA’s legal representative, John Mehrzad KC, launched a scathing attack on the substance of the Brazilian’s suit, arguing that it "conspicuously overlooks a catalogue of his own errors."
Furthermore, the defence questioned the purity of Massa’s motive, which he insists is purely about "justice and recognition."
The Brazilian is seeking approximately £64 million in damages and a declaration that the FIA should have cancelled the race results.
The defence teams contend that the lawsuit is a "misguided attempt to reopen the results of the 2008 F1 drivers' championship" and amounts to treating the court as a "sports debating club."
The judge, Mr Justice Robert Jay KC, is expected to rule in the coming weeks on whether Massa's claim has sufficient grounds to proceed to a full trial.
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