Lawsuit admitted
Schumacher’s teammate wants to fight for the world title in court
Updated 11/21/2025 – 1:32 p.mReading time: 2 minutes
After 17 years, Felipe Massa still hopes to win the 2008 World Championship title on court. Now the ex-Formula 1 driver achieved an important success.
Felipe Massa won an important stage win. The former Formula 1 driver and Ferrari teammate of Michael Schumacher can continue to pursue his lawsuit surrounding the controversial 2008 World Championship. The High Court in London is allowing proceedings against the world automobile association FIA, Formula One Management (FOM) and ex-F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone.
In addition to the subsequent World Cup title, the Brazilian is also demanding at least 75 million euros for lost prize money and advertising revenue. Massa filed the lawsuit in March 2024.
The focus is on the so-called “crashgate” surrounding the Grand Prix in Singapore in 2008. At that time, Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr. deliberately drove into the guardrails. Thanks to the accident and the subsequent safety car phase, teammate Fernando Alonso was able to win the race. Massa, who had previously been in the lead, fell behind.
At the end of the season, Lewis Hamilton won the world title by one point. Massa is convinced that without the incident in Singapore he would have become world champion. It later became known that Renault team boss Flavio Briatore and technical boss Pat Symonds had ordered the accident. Both were initially banned, but later pardoned.
In Massa’s opinion, the world association failed to immediately investigate the incident – and thus violated its own rules.
The FIA, FOM and Ecclestone have rejected all allegations. They recently called for the lawsuit to be dismissed – citing, among other things, that Massa drove badly in Singapore and filed his lawsuit too late.
Judge Robert Jay now explained that Massa had no realistic prospect of proving that the FIA had breached its duty to him. But: “He has a very realistic chance of proving all elements of his conspiracy to use unlawful means in the trial. The same analysis applies to the accusation of incitement.”