FIA issues statement after major Felipe Massa $82million legal case update

The FIA has issued a statement after London’s High Court ruled that part of Felipe Massa’s lawsuit over the outcome of the 2008 F1 world championship will go ahead. 

Massa is taking legal action against the FIA, F1’s commercial arm Formula One Management and former F1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone – all of whom reject the claims – over the outcome of the 2008 season.

FIA issues statement in response to Felipe Massa ruling

Massa, then driving Ferrari, famously missed out on the title by a single point to then-McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton in 2008.

The Brazilian’s case was launched after an interview Mr Ecclestone gave to German outlet F1 Insider in 2023, in which he revealed he and late FIA president Max Mosley were made aware of the true circumstances of that year’s Singapore Grand Prix during the 2008 season.

The Singapore GP of 2008 was the scene of the infamous ‘Crashgate’ scandal, in which Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr crashed deliberately to help teammate Fernando Alonso to victory.

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Massa, who was leading at the time of Piquet’s crash, went on to finish the race in 13th, with the lost points proving costly in his battle with Hamilton.

Mr Ecclestone, who claims that he does not remember the interview in 2023, went on to admit that the sport’s authorities took no action at the time to protect F1 from “a huge scandal.”

As reported by PlanetF1.com, it was ruled on Thursday that Massa’s case will partially continue.

However, judge Robert Jay ruled that “the court cannot be asked to rewrite the outcome of the 2008 Drivers’ World championship”, ending Massa’s slim hopes of being retrospectively crowned that year’s world champion.

In a statement provided to PlanetF1.com in Thursday, the FIA issued a length statement in response to the ruling.

It read: “The FIA is represented by John Mehrzad KC instructed by Imogen Mitchell-Webb, Partner and Head of Sports, and Jennette Newman, Partner and Head of London office, of Horwich Farrelly Limited.

“The Honourable Mr Justice Jay has this morning handed down judgment in the Defendants’ High Court application for strike out and summary judgment in Felipe Massa v. (1) Formula One Management Limited (2) Bernard Charles Ecclestone (3) Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile [2025] EWHC 3064 (KB).

“In the judgment, the Court dismisses the following claims against the FIA:

“1. Mr Massa’s breach of contract claim which was based on the allegation that the FIA’s failure to investigate the Crashgate incident in 2008 was a breach of its regulations. This was dismissed on the basis that there was no real prospect of success, and because it is statute barred.

“2. Mr Massa’s tort claim against the FIA which was based on the same allegation as above, but asserting that this was also a breach of duty, was dismissed on the basis it was statute barred.

“3. Mr Massa’s claim for declarations that (i) the FIA acted in breach of its own regulations in allegedly failing to investigate the circumstances of Crashgate promptly in 2008; and (ii) had the FIA not breached its regulations, Mr Massa would have won the F1 Drivers’ Championship in 2008. These claims were dismissed as there was no real prospect of such declarations being made by the Court.

“The Court emphasised in its judgment ‘a number of obstacles’ Mr Massa faces on causation (paras. 147-148) – in other words, obstacles in establishing that the alleged conspiracy was the cause of his alleged losses.

“The Court also highlighted ‘serious doubts’ about the breach of duty claim which Mr Massa is directed either to abandon or support with a further French law expert opinion before the Court decides whether to grant permission for it to continue (such continuance only being relevant to the conspiracy claim, as the standalone tort claim is statute barred, as per 2 above) (para. 223).

“The Court has otherwise permitted the unlawful means conspiracy claim against the three Defendants to proceed to a full trial albeit on significantly narrowed grounds and subject to (i) reformulation of the claim by Mr Massa; (ii) the French law expert evidence mentioned above; and (iii) any applications for permission to appeal.”

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