Felipe Massa was Formula One world champion for just over thirty seconds back in 2008. The Brazilian won his home race, the final outing of the season and as he crossed the line Lewis Hamilton was languishing in P6 half way around the Interlagos circuit. At the final corner Hamilton managed to pass his friend Timo Glock taking his first title by a single point from Massa.
Yet that season there was controversy in Singapore, when Fernando Alonso’s junior team mate Nelson Piquet Jnr, mysteriously crashed whilst driving along the start/finish straight which conveniently made Alonso’s pit stop strategy the perfect one to win the Grand Prix.
At the time, the scandal was widely reported around the world, but the FIA claimed there was no evidence to support the claims that Renault and Piquet Jnr had manipulated the race result. Yet details emerged I public the following season of Piquet’s deliberate actions which resulted on Renault receiving a two year suspended ban from the sport and team boss Flavio Briatore along with technical director Pat Symonds also had their paddock credentials rescinded.
Ecclestone claims FIA president knew in time
Massa then called for the Singapore Grand Prix result to be cancelled and omitted from the season points tally, yet F1’s governing body claimed their statutes made this impossible given the end of year FIA awards ceremony had been held.
Two years ago in an interview with F1-insider, Bernie Ecclestone claimed that both he and FIA president Max Mosely kew the race had been rigged before the end of the 2008 season. He revealed: “We decided not to do anything for now. We wanted to protect the sport and save it from a huge scandal. That’s why I used angelic tongues to persuade my former driver Nelson Piquet to keep calm for the time being.
“Back then, there was a rule that a world championship classification after the FIA awards ceremony at the end of the year was untouchable. So Hamilton was presented with the trophy and everything was fine. We had enough information in time to investigate the matter. According to the statutes, we should have cancelled the race in Singapore under these conditions.
Massa lodges legal action in High Court
“That means it would never have happened for the championship standings. And then Felipe Massa would have become world champion and not Lewis Hamilton”
Felipe Masa has now lodged legal action in the High Court in England demanding the result be overturned and the Brazilian be awarded $82m in damages for the resulting income lost due to the cover up. In his pursuit of justice some seventeen years on, Massa argues the case is about more than just the title.
“Accountability is key to preventing future fraud,” the Brazilian is reported as telling The Times. “Those entrusted with protecting the sport directly violated their duties, and they cannot be allowed to benefit from concealing their own misconduct. Such conduct is unacceptable in any sphere of life, especially in a sport followed by millions, including children.
Ecclestone splitting hairs
“We will pursue this to the very end in order to achieve a just and fair outcome — for myself, for motorsport in Brazil, and for the sport as a whole,” concluded the F1 champion that never was. Yet slippery as ever, former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone known for his dodgy dealings is doing a U-Turn on his 2023 interview and denies any cover up took place of the incident now known as “crash gate.”
“There is no way in the world anyone could change or cancel that race,” he tells The Times. “There is always something going on where someone would like to cancel it if they could. To try to persuade the president of the FIA to call a special meeting where the FIA would have to cancel the race — there were no provisions for that to happen.”
Ecclesone appears to be splitting hairs in his reasoning for Mosely not to act stating: “Max knew there was not enough evidence at the time to do anything. It only started later when young Nelson decided he wanted to say something when he found out he was not going to get a seat for the following year. Max was not saying we should cover this up but just that it was not good for the image of Formula 1.”
Ecclestone U-Turn on revelations
Ecclestone further now claims he was misquoted by F1-insider. “This was an interview I gave to someone in Germany,” he said in frustration. “And the guy at the time, his English wasn’t that good and he was taking notes, and it was picked up by someone in England. The lawyers for myself, the FIA and F1 do not understand how it can be heard in a court.” Yet despite the article making global headlines in 2023, Ecclestone never challenged it then.
Yet come October 28th this year, the case will be heard but given that Max Mosely is now dead, a vital witness is longer available to Massa’s prosecuting team. Much will hang on the evidence they are able to produce which proves Ecclestone’s comments were reported correctly by F1-insider and the ghost of seventeen years ago raises its spectre over F1 once again.
There are those who believe Massa is on a cash grab and attempting to besmirch Lewis Hamilton’s record as a seven times F1 champion. Yet for Massa the pain of knowing he was truly robbed of an F1 title, a crown of which just 34 different drivers have worn in history, is emoting he believes stood be resolved once and for all, regardless of the implications for Hamilton in the record books.
It may be a deal can be done between the FIA and Massa, where the matter is recognised but the history books remain the same. Either way the matter is now on the record, that Hamilton’s first title was tainted by cheating – even though it was in no part of his own doing.
Hamilton tensions reveal Ferrari deep rift
Since the Formula One summer break, Ferrari’s woes have gone from bad to worse. A team renown from coming back from the Autumn shutdown strongly has scored just thirty points across three Grand Prix weekends, Red Bull by way of contrast have scored seventy eight points.
Last season, Charles Leclerc scored 179 between F1’s return and the curtain falling in Abu Dhabi, while Lando Norris who led the charge to beat Max Verstappen to the drivers’ title claimed 175 points. Something has gone badly wrong with the team and the tension between Hamilton and Maranello is rising.
Coming home in P8 and P9 in Baku was the culmination of another poor weekend for the Scuderia drivers, yet their reasoning as to why the results were poor differed significantly. Charles Leclerc took it on the chin blaming his bad qualifying performance and was careful not to heap the blame all upon the team…. READ MORE
A.J. Hunt is Senior Editor at TJ13, where Andrew oversees editorial standards and contributes to the site’s Formula 1 coverage. A career journalist with experience in both print and digital sports media, Andrew trained in investigative journalism and has written for a range of European sports outlets.
At TJ13, Andrew plays a central role in shaping the site’s output, working across breaking news, analysis, and long-form features. Andrew’s responsibilities include fact-checking, refining editorial structure, and ensuring consistency in reporting across a fast-moving news cycle.
Andrew’s work focuses particularly on the intersection of Formula 1 politics, regulation, and team strategy. Andrew closely follows developments involving the FIA, team leadership, and driver market dynamics, helping to provide context behind the sport’s biggest stories.
With experience covering multiple seasons of Formula 1’s modern hybrid era, Andrew has developed a detailed understanding of how regulatory changes and competitive shifts influence the grid. Andrew’s editorial approach prioritises clarity and context, aiming to help readers navigate complex developments within the sport.
In addition to editorial duties, Andrew is particularly interested in how media narratives shape fan perception of Formula 1, and how reporting can balance speed with accuracy in an increasingly digital news environment.
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