Felipe Massa is taking Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA to court for £64 million as the trial is given the go ahead. Massa claims he is the rightful winner of the 2008 formula 1 world championship after losing out by only 1 point to Lewis Hamilton.
The claim has been made due to the incident at the Singapore grand prix that year, which now goes by ‘crashgate.’ Renault had ordered Nelson Piquet Jr to crash into turn 17 to bring out a safety car to aid the strategy of his teammate, Fernando Alonso. While helping Alonso to win the race, Massa felt the effects in the opposite way, dropping to P13.
Felipe Massa now claims that Ecclestone knew the crash was deliberate and didn’t do enough to investigate it and after Thursday’s ruling that the case would go ahead, Massa stated that “this is a tremendous victory, a great day for me, for justice, and for everyone that loves formula 1” and showed his determination and confidence for the truth to be revealed.
On the opposite side of the courtroom, David Quest KC speaking on behalf of Bernie Ecclestone said that this case was a “misguided attempt to reopen the results of the 2008 driver’s championship,” and John Mehrzad KC for the FIA said that it is “torturous as it is overly ambitious.”
It will be interesting to see the results of the case and if the courtroom sway in favour of Massa or formula 1 in this £64 m lawsuit. Formula 1 all felt the effects of crashgate after 2008 and now it has arisen once again, this time, under the eyes of the law.
WRITTEN BY: Priya Straw
PHOTO CREDIT: Sutton Motorsport Images
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