Felipe Massa's World Championship trial started: Decision this week?
(Motorsport-Total.com) - The legal tug-of-war over the 2008 Formula 1 World Championship title is entering a decisive phase: Since Tuesday (October 28), the Royal Court of Justice in London has been hearing Felipe Massa's lawsuit against the International Automobile Federation (FIA), Formula One Management (FOM) and former Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone.
Felipe Massa is taking his trial via Zoom
The Brazilian is demanding around 64 million pounds (around 82 million dollars) in damages because he believes he was robbed of his title by the so-called "Crashgate" scandal surrounding Fernando Alonso 's victory at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
Judge Sir Robert Jay will first examine the files and then hear from both parties. The defendants—FIA, FOM, and Ecclestone—are attempting to have the proceedings dismissed. If the judge accepts this argument, Massa's case would be over.
However, if the decision is in his favor, the trial could move on to the next phase. Massa's lawyers would then have the opportunity to request further evidence, such as emails or text messages.
There will be no direct confrontation between the parties this week; the hearings will be held separately. Both sides are allowed to listen without actively intervening. A decision could be made as early as Friday, but at the latest in the coming weeks.
Media interview as a starting pointThe background to the legal dispute is an interview that Bernie Ecclestone gave to the website F1-Insider.com in spring 2023.
In it, the then Formula 1 promoter stated that he and then-FIA President Max Mosley had already known about Nelson Piquet Jr.'s deliberately induced accident in Singapore in 2008, but had taken no action to avoid damaging the reputation of Formula 1. Ecclestone later claimed his statements had been mistranslated.
At the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, Piquet Jr., on his team's instructions, deliberately caused an accident at Turn 17, triggering a safety car period. This helped his Renault teammate Fernando Alonso to victory.
Ferrari driver Felipe Massa fell back to 13th place after a failed pit stop - points that he was missing at the end of the season: The Brazilian lost the world championship title by one point to Lewis Hamilton .
Renault team boss Flavio Briatore and technical director Pat Symonds were initially banned for life, but were later vindicated by a French court. Massa sees this manipulation scandal as having a direct impact on the outcome of the World Championship.
The Brazilian has been fighting for a judicial review of the case for over two years. The FIA, FOM, and Ecclestone have so far attempted to have the lawsuit dismissed on formal grounds—among other things, arguing that the case is time-barred or falls outside the jurisdiction of a civil court.
This week will decide whether the fight for the 2008 World Cup title will actually enter a new round.
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