Felipe Massa says the die has been cast and a court of law will now decide whether he was unfairly deprived of a chance to win the F1 world championship in 2008, but the Brazilian is convinced that he has “every possibility” of winning the case.
Last week, Massa and his team of lawyers confirmed their litigation against Formula One, the FIA and former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone when they filed the lawsuit in the London High Court.
Massa is suing these entities for failing to properly investigate the controversial ‘Crashgate’ incident that marred the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
"Crashgate" refers to a deliberate crash staged by Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr. during the race, which strategically benefitted teammate Fernando Alonso.
This ultimately impacted the championship standings, with Massa narrowly losing the 2008 title to Lewis Hamilton by a single point.
Massa contends that a thorough investigation at the time would have revealed the wrongdoing and potentially altered the championship outcome.
The eleven-time Grand Prix winner wants the FIA to acknowledge that the governing body breached their own regulations by failing to properly investigate the Singapore Grand Prix crash.
Furthermore, Massa is also seeking damages worth $80 million.
Last weekend in Sao Paulo, during a round of the FIA Formula E Championship, where coincidently both Massa and Ecclestone were present, the ex-Ferrari driver spoke publicly about his case for the first time since filing his lawsuit.
"I think I've said everything I'm supposed to say about that," Massa said, speaking to Dutch website RacingNews365.
"I said in the interviews, it's something that we will fight until the end, and this is the only thing I can say, it does not depend on me anymore.”
Massa nevertheless added that he was convinced that his lawyers have put together a stro,g cased against the FIA and Formula One.
"It depends on the lawyers. We have a very, very good group of people, professional people working on that,” he added.
"I really believe that we have a bigger case and every possibility to win the case. But to be honest, it's not on me anymore.
"The only thing I can say is that we are fighting for the justice, because it was not fair what happened to me.
"As I said, that's the only thing I can say, I'm here to talk about Formula E."
Last week, Ecclestone also chimed in on the case in which he is now a defendant, suggesting that Massa was pursuing the right course of action.
"If he had asked me, I would have said it was the complete right thing to do, to sue, and to let an English judge decide what is right and wrong,” he told the PA news Agency.
“I cannot say anything about the outcome and what will happen.
"I have not got a clue, I don’t think anyone has, but from his point of view, it is better that an English judge comes up with a verdict. It will be of more help for him.”
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