FIA launch staggering response to Felipe Massa claim as court case begins

The FIA has labelled Felipe Massa's claim to be the rightful F1 champion of 2008 as “torturous” and “overly ambitious”.

Massa is seeking damages from the race-fixing scandal that took place in Singapore 17 years ago, a situation orchestrated by Renault which changed the face of the grand prix. 

Massa endured a disastrous pit stop under a safety car deployed following a crash for Nelson Piquet Jr, which was later revealed to be a deliberate collision to aid team-mate Fernando Alonso to victory.

In 2023, former F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone stated in an interview that he and then-FIA president Max Mosley were aware of Renault's scheme but opted to keep the situation under wraps.

Massa is not looking to strip Lewis Hamilton of his 2008 title, but is looking to be recognised as the rightful champion as well as around £64 million in lost earnings (plus interest), and a statement from the FIA admitting it broke its own regulations.

As the court case got underway with RacingNews365 in attendance, documents highlighting the FIA's response have hit back at Massa's challenge.

“Mr Massa's claim is as torturous as it is overly ambitious,” read a statement from the FIA defence.

“The multi-millionaire Brazil national and resident brings a claim in this jurisdiction of England and Wales founded on an alleged breach of the supranational rulebook of the FIA, a private international sporting organisation domiciled in France, concerning events at and around the Formula One Singapore Grand Prix over 17 years ago, on 28 September, 2008.

“Mr Massa's claim conspicuously overlooks a catalogue of his own errors or those of his team, Ferrari, during the Singapore GP and at other GPs which contributed to his overall second place finish in the Drivers' Championship that season.”

RacingNews365 will deliver you updates from the court proceedings over the coming days.