Massa considers legal options over controversial 2008 "Crashgate"

Felipe Massa has expressed his intention to explore legal avenues in challenging the outcome of the 2008 Formula 1 World Championship, which he lost to Lewis Hamilton by just one point.

This move follows recent comments from ex-F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone, who provided fresh insight into the critical 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

The Infamous 2008 Singapore Grand Prix

The Singapore race, notorious for Nelson Piquet Jr.'s deliberate crash, had a considerable impact on the title battle.

Massa's Ferrari crew botched a pitstop during the safety car period caused by Piquet's crash, resulting in the Brazilian driver finishing 13th, while Hamilton secured third place.

The points swing from that race arguably decided the championship outcome, with Hamilton finishing one point ahead of Massa in the standings after the Brazilian GP.

Ecclestone's Remarks Prompt Action

Ecclestone's recent comments suggest that he and then FIA President Max Mosley were aware of the rule violation before the 2008 season concluded, which was within the timeframe for altering the result.

In an interview with the F1-Insider website last month, Ecclestone said, "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."

He continued, "That means it would never have happened for the championship standings. And then Felipe Massa would have become world champion and not Lewis Hamilton."

Massa told Autosport during the Stock Car Pro Series weekend in Goiânia, "This is very sad, to know the result of this race was supposed to be cancelled and I would have a title."

"In the end, I was the one who lost the most with this result. So, we are going after it to understand all this."

Massa acknowledges that his chances of finding any way to challenge the result are slim, but that won't stop him from investigating the matter.

"There are rules, and there are many things that, depending on the country, you cannot go back after 15 years to resolve a situation,” he said.

"But I intend to study the situation; study what the laws say, and the rules. We have to have an idea of what it is possible to do."

Seeking Justice, Not Financial Compensation

Massa clarifies that his motivation for pursuing the matter is not financial gain. “I would never go after it thinking financially,” he said. “I would go after it thinking about justice. I think if you've been punished for something that wasn't your fault, and it's the product of a robbery, a stolen race, justice has to be served."

"In fact, the right situation is to cancel the result of that race. It is the only justice that can be done in a case like this,” Massa added.

Massa pointed out that other sports have amended results years after competitions when fresh evidence of cheating emerged. “We have already seen other situations happening in sports, such as Lance Armstrong (cyclist), who was proven to have doped, and he lost all the titles. What is the difference?”

When asked if he had spoken to his former Ferrari team about the matter, Massa said: “Not yet.”

FIA's Final Court and Limited Options

While Massa plans to look into the matter, there do not appear to be any routes to get the result of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix cancelled.

The FIA’s own International Sporting Code does not allow protests after a race, and any right to request a review expires 14 calendar days after a competition – and four days prior to the date of that year’s FIA prize-giving ceremony.

Furthermore, the FIA’s judicial system is clear that the highest authority to make any ruling is the independent International Court of Appeal – and that any persons involved in a championship agree to abide by this.

So there are no alternative courts that Massa could use.

This judicial structure within the FIA, of the final call being the ICA, was one of the reasons why Mercedes abandoned its challenge over the result of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, where Hamilton lost the title after rules regarding the running of the event were not followed by F1 race director Michael Masi.

While in theory, Massa could seek out the views of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), it has no jurisdiction over the FIA on issues like this.

The FIA statutes dictate that the CAS may only be involved in matters relating to the FIA’s Anti-Doping Disciplinary Committee.