Felipe Massa is currently pursuing a petition in the UK high court against the FIA and various individuals for a cover up which would have seen him – not Lewis Hamilton – named as the Formula One 2008 drivers’ champion.
The background to the claim is based on activity which occurred at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix – F1’s first ever night race – with Renault running Fernando Alonso and Nelson Piquet Jnr as their drivers.
Under pressure to save his F1 career, Piquet later admitted that the team’s principal Flavio Briatore and technical director Pat Symonds instructed him to deliberately crash to benefit his team mate’s race.
Biggest F1 scandal of all time
Towards the end of lap 14, Piquet inexplicable crashed into the pit lane wall following turn 17. The safety car was deployed which altered the dynamics of the race given Alonso had pitted early and stood to benefit ‘Indycar’ style from the subsequent bunching up of the cars before the pit lane was declared open.
Indeed Fernando went on to win the race with Lewis claiming the last spot on the podium, whilst Felipe Massa easily thirteenth and outside the points. The title was won by Hamilton that year by just one point from the Brazilian driver, but had the race result been stricken from the championship – as was the FIA rules at the time, it would have been Massa enjoying his maiden F1 championship instead of Hamilton.
The reason the matter is now being pursued is due to statements made by Bernie Ecclestone in 2023, where he claimed that as CEO at the time, together with FIA president Max Mosely they both knew of the ‘cheating’ but failed to act due to concerns over a high scandal.
Massa is not seeking to have Hamilton stripped of his 2008 title, something only the FIA could do and they can’t have this course of action forced upon them by any jurisdiction. But he is seeking recognition of his situation and compensation I the region of $85m for lost earnings he would have achieved were he a former F1 champion driver.
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Crashgate is considered one of the biggest scandals in F1 history and has raised questions over the sport’s governance and whether the FIA were complicit in the initial cover up. The matter came to light the following season, when Nelson Piquet Jnr was released by Renault and decided he may as well tell all after the team failed to protect his F1 career.
In the opening round of a three day hearing in the London High Court, Lawyers for F1, Bernie Ecclestone and the FIA argued Massa had brought the case too late, although his evidence of the cover up was only brought to light in 2023. They further suggested Ferrari and Massa were the reason the Brazilian failed to win that season’s honours given their poor performance at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
At the pit stop following Piquet’s crash, Massa knocked over one of the Ferrari pit crew and left the box with the fuel hose trailing from his Ferrari car. He was forced to wait at the end of the pit lane, whilst the offending appendage was removed from his car before resuming the race.
The defence are trying to claim that Felipe knew enough in 2009 to bring an action and therefore the claim should be timed out. Yet the former Ferrari driver claims he asked Briatore that yer whether the crash was deliberate and the Italian denied the allegation, although Massa was unsure as to the truthfulness of Briatore’s assertion.
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Ferrari tried to gag their driver
The latest evidence delivered today in what is expected to be the end of the three day hearing is that Massa was issued with a ‘gagging order’ by his Ferrari team in 2009, when it was decided that Fernando Alonso would be joining the Scuderia the following seasons.
Felipe was requested to sign a joint declaration with Ferrari intended for public consumption, which would have exonerated Alonso from any suspicion of complicit behaviour over the crash. In his witness statement Massa revealed today, “In October 2009 I also told journalists that I believed Fernando Alonso (the other Renault driver who won because of Nelson’s crash) knew it was on purpose. When Ferrari found out, GSA (the firm who handled the team’s contracts) wrote me a letter on 16 October 2009 reprimanding me about making public comments about Fernando Alonso.”
Massa was to suffer a life threatening accident in Hungary in 2009, where a small but heavy object became disconnected with the Williams car ahead of him in the race, knocking him unconscious as his Ferrari career into the tire barrier.
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Felipe reveals, ”I found out before my accident in July 2009 that Alonso would drive for Ferrari in the 2010 F1 season. The letter was signed by Henry Peter (a Ferrari lawyer). Ferrari then drafted a statement for me to issue but I refused to make that statement. Instead, I just said that it was time to look to the future.”
The introduction of evidence will conclude the three day trial this afternoon although a ruling is not expected for some days. Maybe even a few weeks. Any finding in favour of Massa will once again rock F1 as the skeleton’s from the distant past closet return to remind a new generation of fans, the power and potential corruptive power of the sport’s ruling body.
And this is taking place at a particularly poignant time given the FIA is being sued by ex-presidential candidate Laura Villars, one of the few who dared to challenge the institution’s iron grip, has decided that enough is enough. Her lawsuit against the FIA, filed in Paris, is set to test whether motorsport’s governing body still remembers what the “A” in its name stands for, Association, not Autocracy.
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The first hearing will take place on November 10, setting the stage for a showdown that could make even the stewards’ room at Monza look orderly. The FIA presidential election is scheduled for December 12, though calling it an “election” might be generous. Four people initially expressed their intent to run for the top job. Yet, as of today, only one man remains: the incumbent, Mohammed Ben Sulayem. The rest have been quietly removed from the equation, not by the will of voters, but by a conveniently restrictive rulebook.
According to FIA regulations, each presidential candidate must present a team of seven vice presidents, covering all six of the FIA’s world regions. Sounds sensible in theory, until one notices that only Fabiana Ecclestone is eligible to represent South America, and she’s already on Ben Sulayem’s team. The rulebook effectively slams the door shut on anyone hoping to form a complete ticket.
Whilst Massa’s claims of corruption are almost two decades old, it appears little has changed at the FIA and calls for it to be reformed will now reach a crescendo.
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Ferrari are not having the season they hoped for. Having signed seven times champion Lewis Hamilton for top dollar, thy believed the 2025 Formula One season would be the one that finally ended their seventeen year drought of championship titles.
Yet as the Italian media consistently report, there’s trouble in Maranello and its root and cause sits at the top of the team with Fred Vasseur. He proudly announced at the annual festive bash at the Scuderia’s HQ that the team’s “2025 car will be completely new.”
TJ13 commented at the time this was a remarkably strange decision for a number of reasons. Firstly, in the final year of car design regulations, the teams are scratching around for marginal gains based on the learning they have made over the previous three seasons. To build a whole new car bins much of that knowledge as the team is forced to almost start from scratch….. 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.
