What we have learned about Massa’s £64m F1 court action

Almost one year on from revealing that he was considering legal action over F1 and the FIA’s handling of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix ‘crashgate’ controversy, Massa has put his money where his mouth is in seeking redress.

The Brazilian has sprung into action after revelations last year from then F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone that grand prix racing’s chiefs were aware early on of Nelson Piquet Jr having crashed deliberately in Singapore to help Renault team-mate Fernando Alonso win.

Knowing that something was amiss prior to that year’s F1 season finale, and especially the end of season FIA prize gala where championships are officially awarded, means there was plenty of time for a proper investigation to be conducted and appropriate action taken.

Massa believes that if the FIA had acted in the way he thinks they should have done, the result of the Singapore GP would have been changed – and he, not Lewis Hamilton, would have ended the year as champion.

The arguments surrounding the controversy have long been discussed, but the process of going legal means that more specific details of the case have been revealed.

Autosport has seen the British High Court documents lodged by Massa’s legal representatives and they offer a fascinating insight into the legal arguments at play – and what outcome is being sought.

The £64 million question

When the story first broke last year that Massa was considering legal action over what happened in 2008, it was very much focused on trying to get the title outcome overturned.

As Bernardo Viana, from the Sao Paulo Vieira Rezende Advogados law firm that represents Massa in Brazil, told Autosport last September: “The objective is to bring the trophy home. It’s not financial.”

It was unclear at the time, however, as to how the world championship outcome could be overturned because the FIA statutes are pretty definitive in laying down that once the official trophies have been handed out at the end of season gala, then there are no grounds for overturning.

And that indeed appears to have been the conclusion, because the court papers make no reference to seeking removal of Hamilton’s maiden F1 title and awarding it to Massa. Instead, the court action is all about the damages that Massa suffered as a result of what he says was the wrong actions of the FIA and F1.

It outlines that Massa not only lost…