The “conspiracy” around Bernie Ecclestone’s involvement in a cover-up over not investigating Nelson Piquet Jr’s crash played an important part in the proceedings of Felipe Massa’s High Court case on Thursday.
On the second day of a three-day pre-trial hearing at London’s Royal Court of Justice, the role and involvement of Ecclestone and then-FIA president Max Mosley in what became known as “crashgate” was examined by Massa’s lawyer, Nick de Marco, KC, in front of Mr Justice Jay.
Massa, once again in attendance at Court 73, is seeking around £64 million in damages and wants the right to be known as the ‘rightful’ 2008 champion, but is not looking to overturn Lewis Hamilton’s title.
Addressing the conspiracy claim in Massa’s case on Thursday afternoon, de Marco spoke that Massa was only bringing the case against Ecclestone, Formula One Management (FOM) and the FIA now after the “deliberate concealment” of Ecclestone’s knowledge that Piquet’s crash in Singapore was deliberate.
This is anchored around an interview Ecclestone gave to F1 Insider in 2023, claiming that he and Mosley knew during the 2008 Brazilian GP weekend of what happened, but decided to do nothing.
When questioned by Mr Justice Jay how Massa could be time-barred from bringing his action against the parties in 2009, but could in 2025, de Marco replied that it was Ecclestone’s 2023 interview which finally revealed the truth.
“After many years, that interview was the first time it became apparent to Mr Massa that there had been a deliberate concealment of a conspiracy that was known,” the KC replied to the bench.
“The defendants are very eager to prevent the court from examining their serious wrongdoing. The FIA owed a duty to other members to enforce its regulations; the FIA recognised that duty when it belatedly investigated the crash in 2009.
“Mr Ecclestone’s interview confirms this when he said the FIA had sufficient evidence to investigate the crash and should have done so then.
“The international sporting governing body whose whole purpose and reason it has powers is to protect the integrity of the sport.”
De Marco, who is also currently representing Alex Palou in his case against McLaren, repeatedly stressed to Justice Jay that it was Ecclestone’s 2023 interview that serves as the backbone of Massa’s claim – as he also fiercely criticised Ecclestone and Mosley’s handling of the 2009 World Motor Sport Council report in the crash – once Piquet Jr had gone public with his allegations of crashing on purpose.
“The people who wrote this report, Ecclestone and Mosley, knew they had sufficient evidence but were worried about the consequences, so they covered it up,” de Marco added.
"He was cheated by Ecclestone and Mosley; there was nothing to make Mr Massa aware that Mr Ecclestone and Mr Mosley had the information to act, when they had said the opposite.”
The hearing continues.
Most read
In this article
Join the conversation!