Ecclestone issues retort against Massa 2008 legal action

Bernie Ecclestone has claimed Felipe Massa's legal action over the 2008 World Championship is "all about money."

Comments from Ecclestone earlier this year sparked fresh action from Massa after the former F1 boss indicated that he and then FIA president Max Mosley were made aware of Nelson Piquet Jr being ordered to crash by Renault at the Singapore Grand Prix at the Brazil finale.

During the resulting pit-stop under the Safety Car after Piquet's crash, Massa drove off with the Ferrari fuel-rig still attached dropping him from the lead to out of the points as rival Lewis Hamilton picked up six points for third place.

Massa's legal team wants the Singapore race expunged from the record books, which would make the Brazilian the 2008 champion by five points, although it is unclear by what mechanism this could be achieved as protests to results are only permitted up until days before the champion driver is handed the trophy by the FIA.

Ecclestone has since retracted his comments and insisted he cannot remember the interview he gave which triggered Massa's action, but the 92-year-old now believes Massa is simply chasing money.

Ecclestone's retort

"It's all about money for the Massa clan," Ecclestone told German publication Blick.

"But the chances of that are zero.

"Lawsuits against the FIA could have been filed by Hamilton and Mercedes after the 2021 finale in Abu Dhabi."

Lawyers for Massa have sent both the FIA and F1 Letter Before Claims, with the deadline for a response recently extended to mid-October as action in the UK High Court in London is expected.

RacingNews365 can confirm that Ferrari, Alpine (Renault), ING, Flavio Briatore, Pat Symonds and Flavio Briatore have all been issued with preservation notices.

This means all documents related to the case must be perserved in original form with no modification in any form.

When approached by RacingNews365 for comment, an Alpine team spokesperson said that the order had not been received by the team, while Ferrari and ING have also been approached.