Mistakes not ‘Crashgate’ cost Massa title, court hears

A court has heard that former Ferrari driver Felipe Massa “performed very poorly” at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, which was the site of the “Crashgate” scandal, which cost him the race win and ultimately the drivers’ world championship.

The 44-year-old Brazilian is suing for damages from Lewis Hamilton for McLaren over an alleged “conspiracy” that he claims cost him the title.

Massa is requesting about $64 million plus interest from former Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, Formula 1, and the FIA on Wednesday, the first day of a three-day hearing at the High Court in London.

When Fernando Alonso, who finished 15th on the grid, collided deliberately to derail a safety car, Massa was in command of the race.

Ferrari pitted Massa in the safety-car period, but he was unable to stop because of a malfunction in the stop, which sent him to the points.

Ecclestone and then-FIA president Max Mosley claimed in an interview with F1 Insider in 2023 that they were aware of Piquet’s accident on purpose but didn’t take any action in an effort to “protect the sport and save it from a huge scandal.”

Ecclestone, who turned 95 on Tuesday, “does not remember giving this interview,” according to Quest.

The defendants contend that Massa had enough legal knowledge to bring a lawsuit in 2008 and 2009, which should have resulted in the dismissal of the case.

After the publication of the Ecclestone interview, Massa’s attorneys claim that he did not have sufficient information to file a lawsuit.

Alonso, who had already stopped earlier than his rivals, benefited from that.

Ferrari accidentally knocked over a crew member during the safety-car period during the pit stop, forcing Massa to leave the pits with the fuel hose attached to the vehicle.

He rejoined the track toward the back of the field, finishing 13th overall outside of points.

Hamilton, who finished third, increased Hamilton’s championship lead over Massa by seven points.

Piquet at the time described the wall’s “simple mistake” as a “simple mistake.”

However, when Renault dropped him in the 2009 season, he revealed that the team had asked him to deliberately crash, leading to an investigation that saw the suspension of both the team’s chief technical officer Pat Symonds and its team principal Flavio Briatore for several years.

Alonso was found innocent of all charges, but the FIA found no proof that he knew about the scheme.