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Lorraine McKenna, BBC Sport Journalist1
Former Ferrari driver Felipe Massa “performed very poorly” at the Singapore Grand Prix in 2008 – the scene of the ‘Crashgate’ scandal – which cost him the race win and ultimately the drivers’ world championship, a court has heard.
The Brazilian, 44, is taking legal action over an alleged “conspiracy” that he says denied him the title, which was won by Lewis Hamilton for McLaren.
Massa was at the High Court in London on Wednesday for the opening day of a three-day hearing, where he is seeking about £64m plus interest from former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, Formula 1 and governing body the FIA.
Massa was leading the race when Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr crashed deliberately to trigger a safety car, which helped team-mate Fernando Alonso, who went on to win from 15th on the grid.
Ferrari pitted Massa during the safety-car period but messed up the stop, which dropped him down the field and out of the points.
Ecclestone’s lawyer David Quest said Massa and Ferrari’s mistakes rather than Piquet’s crash led to him missing out on the title.
Massa’s case rests on an interview Ecclestone gave to F1 Insider in 2023, in which he said he and then FIA president Max Mosley knew Piquet’s crash was done on purpose but took no action in an attempt to “protect the sport and save it from a huge scandal”.
Quest said Ecclestone, who turned 95 on Tuesday, “does not remember giving this interview”.
The defendants argue Massa knew enough to sue in 2008 and 2009, meaning the case should be thrown out for being brought too late.
However, Massa’s lawyers say he did not know enough to bring a lawsuit until the Ecclestone interview was published.
Hamilton clinched the title after overtaking Toyota’s Timo Glock for fifth place on the last lap of the season finale in Massa’s home race – which he won – in Brazil, three races after Singapore.
