Lewis Hamilton in trouble as Felipe Massa drags him to court over 2008 grand prix win

Felipe Massa has initiated legal action against Formula One, the FIA, and Bernie Ecclestone in London’s high court, contesting Lewis Hamilton’s 2008 Formula One World Championship win.

Massa, who lost the title to Hamilton by a single point, believes he is the rightful winner due to the controversial circumstances surrounding the Singapore Grand Prix.

Renault’s deliberate crash involving Nelson Piquet Jr., orchestrated to benefit Fernando Alonso, affected Massa’s championship hopes as he was leading at the time. Despite Piquet later revealing the orchestrated crash, Ecclestone claimed that F1 executives were aware of the cover-up before the conclusion of the 2008 season.

Massa’s legal team alleges that the FIA failed to promptly investigate Piquet’s crash, breaching regulations, and seeks compensation for Massa’s financial losses. The lawsuit aims to establish Massa as the rightful champion had the FIA acted appropriately.

“Mr Massa is seeking declarations that the FIA breached its regulations by failing to promptly investigate Nelson Piquet Junior’s crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, and that had it acted properly, Mr Massa would have won the drivers’ championship that year.”

Lewis Hamilton, the 2008 champion, has refrained from dwelling on the past and expressed his focus on the present. Ecclestone supported Massa’s decision to pursue legal action, emphasizing the importance of letting an English judge decide the matter.

He said: “If that’s the direction that Felipe wants to go, that’s his ­decision.

“I prefer not to focus on the past. Whether it’s 15 years ago, two years ago, or three days ago, I’m only interested in the present.”