FORMULA 1

Singapuragate: Hearings in Felipe Massa's lawsuit over 2008 F1 title come to an end; driver shows optimism

The hearings in the lawsuit that Felipe Massa filed against Formula 1, the International Automobile Federation (FIA), and Bernie Ecclestone, former head of the category, regarding the 2008 season title, have come to an end in the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, in London. In contact with the press, the Brazilian driver, who was personally present at the sessions, awaits the outcome, which could come in weeks or take months.

- I am very pleased with the interest shown by the English Court in my case. I hope the Court will realize the defendants' attempts to prevent a public trial of the serious allegations against them. Now, we will await the Court's decision.

Massa is seeking recognition as champion and US$82 million in compensation for lost prize money and possible bonuses he would have received had he won the title.

The purpose of the hearings was to determine whether the process will proceed to the collection of evidence and trial or whether it will be dismissed. If the judge decides not to proceed, Felipe Massa's defense can appeal.

The 'Singaporegate' scandal...Felipe Massa's lawsuit, filed in 2024, is based on the scandal dubbed "Singaporegate" or "Crashgate," which occurred at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, when Renault ordered Nelson Piquet Jr. to intentionally crash during the race to bring out a safety car and benefit Fernando Alonso, who won the race.

At the time with Ferrari, Massa was leading the race at the time of the accident, but had a problem during the pit stop—the fuel hose got stuck in the car—and finished only 13th. The Brazilian lost the season title to Lewis Hamilton by just one point. If the Singapore Grand Prix had been annulled, Felipe Massa would have been champion.

Massa explains that the process is not to take away the title won by Lewis Hamilton, but to "correct an injustice," allowing for the recognition of both as 2008 champions.

- My fight is not against Lewis, but against a race that was manipulated. This is about justice. In other sports, results have also been reviewed. It's not impossible that this could happen in Formula 1 - he declared.

The scandal was only revealed the following year by journalist Reginaldo Leme during a live broadcast on TV Globo. Renault boss Flavio Briatore and engineering director Pat Symonds were banned from F1, but ended up reversing the decision in the French court. Briatore currently heads Alpine, formerly Renault. Nelsinho Piquet was fired from the team at the end of 2008 and never competed in the category again.

Ecclestone's 2023 interview made Massa decide to take legal action...Massa even considered requesting the annulment of the Singapore GP at the time, but ended up giving up due to the impossibility of reversing the decision, because of the International Sporting Code, which determines that the championship result cannot be changed after the award ceremony.

However, an interview Ecclestone gave to the German website F1 Insider in August 2023 made the Brazilian driver decide to take the case to court. On that occasion, the former F1 boss revealed that he already knew about the scandal back in 2008, but decided not to disclose the information so as not to harm the category and the FIA ​​— and that he considered the Brazilian the legitimate world champion.

- Max Mosley (FIA president at the time) and I were informed during the 2008 season about what had happened at the Singapore race. We decided not to do anything at the time. We wanted to protect the sport and save it from a major scandal. There was a rule at the time that the world championship standings were untouchable after the FIA ​​awards ceremony at the end of the year. So, Hamilton received the World Championship trophy and that was the end of it – said Ecclestone in 2023.

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