Felipe Massa's "Crashgate" Lawsuit: All of the slanderous remarks made against the Brazilian

Former F1 driver Felipe Massa’s lawsuit against FIA, Formula One Management, and Bernie Ecclestone has finally reached the courtroom, with the hearing underway at the London High Court. The Brazilian is seeking a little over $84 million in claim, but was met with slanderous remarks on the first day of the court hearing.

Former F1 Boss Bernie Ecclestone reportedly came out in 2023 and suggested and suggested that the then-FIA president Max Mosley had knowledge of the “Crashgate” before the season ended, and could've altered the result of the Singapore GP, which would give the Brazilian the championship.

Felipe Massa filed a lawsuit in 2024, with Wednesday, October 29, 2025, being the first day of the three-day hearing in the London High Court. The claims being asked by Massa are for the lost sponsorships as well as the earnings, which he would've been entitled to had FIA, FOM, and Bernie Ecclestone acted on the crashgate, making him the 2008 F1 champion.

Singapore Formula One Grand Prix: Race - Source: Getty

However, the respective lawyers of the FIA, Formula One Management, and Bernie Ecclestone made slanderous remarks against Felipe Massa, claiming it was a “misguided attempt” to revisit the 2008 F1 title results.

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The remarks made by FIA, FOM, and Bernie Ecclestone’s lawyer against Felipe Massa in the London High Court

The lawyers for the defendants came out on the opening day of the hearing, and suggested that Felipe Massa losing the 2008 title was due to his mistake at the 2008 Singapore GP. The Brazilian left the pitbox with the fuel rig still attached to the car and had to stop at the end of the pit lane for the mechanics to remove the house, which cost him time, as well as positions.

The F1 Supremo’s lawyer David Quest KC said Massa's claims "are a misguided attempt to reopen the results of the 2008 F1 Drivers' Championship. Mr Massa argues that, but for the FIA's handling of the crash, he would have won the Drivers' Championship. These declarations treat the court as a sports 'debating club', asking it to embark upon a counterfactual exercise concerning the 'refereeing' of a sporting event which took place nearly 17 years ago.”

Bernie Ecclestone's lawyer added that Felipe Massa’s claim would “deprive Mr Hamilton of his 2008 title” despite the Briton being equally exposed to the crashgate.

John Mehrzad KC, for the FIA, said Massa's claim is "torturous as it is overly ambitious" and "conspicuously overlooks a catalogue of his own errors". “In truth, it was not the deployment of the safety car which changed the course of history for Mr Massa, but rather a series of subsequent racing errors by him and his team during the remaining 47 laps of the race. The simple fact is that over the course of both the Singapore Grand Prix and across the 2008 season, Mr Hamilton outperformed Mr Massa and everyone else.” wrote Anneliese Day KC, for FOM, in the written submission

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The “Crashgate” incident and its impact on the 2008 F1 title

Nelson Piquet Jr came out in 2009 and revealed that he deliberately crashed at the 2008 Singapore GP after being instructed to do the same by Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds to help his teammate Fernando Alonso win the race.

European Formula One Grand Prix: Practice - Source: Getty

At the end of the 2008 F1 season, Felipe Massa lost the title to Lewis Hamilton by just one point. However, after Nelson Piquet Jr revealed the reality behind Crashgate, the FIA and FOM were questioned about voiding the result of the Singapore GP.

Since Lewis Hamilton finished ahead of Felipe Massa in the Singapore GP, if the race had been voided, the Brazilian would've been classified as the 2008 F1 champion. Since the championship had already been concluded and the titles had been awarded, no action was taken against it.

With Bernie Ecclestone reportedly coming out and suggesting that Max Mosley knew about the incident before the season ended, Massa came out, suggesting it was now enough evidence to file a lawsuit.

Edited by Pranay Bhagi