17 August 2023 , 19:55
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Ex-Ferrari driver Felipe Massa has begun legal proceedings against F1 chiefs nearly 15 years after missing out on the 2008 World Championship.
In one of the great season finales, it was Lewis Hamilton who claimed the drivers' title by a point, overtaking Toyota's Timo Glock on the final lap of the Brazilian Grand Prix to claim the required fifth place he needed. Massa, who took the chequered flag, and his team were already celebrating when the late drama unfolded.
But Massa's heartbreak was later compounded by huge controversy, when Nelson Piquet Jnr claimed he had been told by Renault team bosses to intentionally crash into the wall in that year's race in Singapore. Massa was leading at the time, but the incident triggered a safety car and after a botched pitstop, Massa lost out to Fernando Alonso in a result that later cost him dear.
The saga erupted again in March this year when former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone was quoted as saying he and former FIA president Max Mosley knew Picquet had deliberately careered off-track in 2008, prior to his public admission. It prompted Massa to immediately seek legal advice with a view to taking action.
And according to Reuters, Massa is seeking substantial damages against both F1 bosses and the FIA, in relation to the alleged "conspiracy" that denied him a maiden world title. A formal eight-page 'letter before action' was reportedly sent to Chief Executive Stefano Domenicali and FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem on Tuesday.
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A formal legal notice is mandatory before court proceedings can begin, and lawyer Enyo Law alleged his client was "the victim of a conspiracy committed by individuals at the highest level of F1 together with the FIA and Formula One Management." He also argued the Brazilian driver had potentially lost out on huge financial gains.
"Simply put, Mr Massa is the rightful 2008 Driver's Champion, and F1 and FIA deliberately ignored the misconduct that cheated him out of that title," the letter read. "Mr Massa is unable to fully quantify his losses at this stage but estimates that they are likely to exceed tens of millions of Euros. This amount does not cover the serious moral and reputational losses suffered by Mr Massa."
Piquet Jr was accused of deliberately crashing into the barriers (Sutton Motorsport/Press Association Images)Piquet Jnr's revelations led to charges of race-fixing against his Renault bosses. Subsequently, Team Principle Flavio Briatore and Engineering Director Pat Symonds both departed in disgrace. The driver himself found himself removed by the team before the 2008 season concluded, and never competed in F1 thereafter.
Massa, now 42, remained with the Italian giants for another five years after his title heartbreak, but never again came close to the Championship. His best efforts came in 2010 and 2011, when he finished sixth.
He mirrored that result in 2015 in his second season at Williams, but left F1 at the climax of the 2017 campaign. He's currently competing in the 2023 Stock Car Pro Series in his native Brazil.