Ex-F1 bosses accused of “conspiring” to cover up Crashgate by Felipe Massa's lawyer

Felipe Massa’s legal counsel has asserted that Formula 1’s leadership was involved in a “deliberate concealment” of Nelson Piquet Jr’s 2008 Singapore Grand Prix crash, as part of Massa’s case disputing that year’s title.

Massa had filed a lawsuit against the FIA, Formula One Management (FOM), and Bernie Ecclestone seeking damages for the outcome of the 2008 championship, which is now being tabled at a pre-trial hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice in London.

The Brazilian is seeking £64million in damages from the three parties.

An interview with former F1 supremo Ecclestone had been released on F1-Insider in 2023, where Ecclestone had apparently suggested that he and former FIA president Max Mosley knew enough about the Crashgate plot in the 2008 Singapore GP to potentially expunge the race from the official standings – but chose to avoid potentially drawing attention to a scandal.

Ecclestone has subsequently stated that he does not remember giving the interview, a defence mounted by his lawyer David Quest KC.

Regardless, Massa had subsequently seen this interview and chose to mount a legal challenge to seek damages. Having led that year’s Singapore race, Massa left a pitstop with his fuel hose stuck to his car – he finished the race in 13th place as a result.

In the race, Piquet was instructed to crash on the 14th lap, after Renault team-mate Fernando Alonso had made a pitstop. During this era, the pitlane tended to remain shut during the initial application of a safety car; as a result, Alonso ultimately won the first F1 race in Singapore. Crucially, Massa’s title rival Lewis Hamilton finished in third – and in that year’s Brazil finale, beat Massa to the title by one point.

Nick De Marco KC, Massa’s lawyer, stated that those in charge of F1 at the time were involved in “deliberate concealment” of the events in Singapore to protect their own interests.

Felipe Massa, Ferrari F2008, and Lewis Hamilton, McLaren MP4-23 Mercedes

Photo by: Steven Tee / Motorsport Images

“The first point is that it is no exaggeration to say the deliberate crash was one of the most serious incidents of sport manipulation in world sport, not only because it was blatant attempt to intervene in the race, but the deliberate act threatened the life of spectators and the driver himself,” said De Marco.

“What then happens is the deliberate concealment of the conspiracy to have a crash, the deliberate concealment by those with responsibility for protecting the integrity of the sport, deliberately conspiring together to cover up one of the most serious scandals in the history of sport.”

Quest had countered in court that “Mr Massa’s poor performance in the race was not related to the crash, and neither was Lewis Hamilton’s strong performance. Neither of them were aware of Renault’s ploy.”

FOM’s counsellor Anneliese Day KC has contended that Massa’s failed bid to become champion was simply a matter of Hamilton having “outperformed” Massa over the season – and that Massa had “the misfortune” to be in competition with the seven-time champion.

“This litigation will not result in Mr Massa getting the prize he wants, and the only ‘winners’ out of a further 12 to 18 months of litigation will be the lawyers,” read Day’s statement. “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).

“There is nothing unusual or unfair about that: Mr Massa simply had the misfortune to be up against one of the greatest drivers the sport has ever seen, and neither he nor anyone else could beat Mr Hamilton over the course of the season.”

The pre-trial will conclude on Friday, after which it will be decided if the case warrants a full trial, or will be thrown out.