‘Deliberate Concealment’: Massa’s lawyers unleash fury at F1

In the hallowed halls of London’s Royal Courts of Justice, the ghosts of Formula 1’s darkest scandal continued to be stirred back to life on Thursday, as Felipe Massa’s legal team launched a blistering assault on the sport’s guardians.

The former Ferrari driver is seeking $80 million in damages from the FIA, Formula One Management, and former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, claiming that their alleged inaction over the so-called “Crashgate” race in Singapore in 2008 robbed him of the world title that year.

As the pre-trial hearing unfolded on Thursday before Judge Robert Jay, the air thickened with legal broadsides. Massa’s counsel, barrister Nick De Marco KC, didn’t hold back, framing the saga as a betrayal at the sport’s summit.

Those in charge of F1 at the time were involved in a “deliberate concealment” of the events in Singapore, prioritizing reputation over integrity.

'One of the most serious incidents of sport manipulation'

“The first point is that it is no exaggeration to say the deliberate crash was one of the most serious incidents of sport manipulation in world sport,” De Marco argued.

“Not only because it was a blatant attempt to intervene in the race, but the deliberate act threatened the life of spectators and the driver himself.”

He went further, claiming that F1’s top officials conspired to hide the truth.

“What then happens is the deliberate concealment of the conspiracy to have a crash, the deliberate concealment by those with responsibility for protecting the integrity of the sport, deliberately conspiring together to cover up one of the most serious scandals in the history of sport.”

The spark for Massa’s legal action is rooted in an interview published in 2023 by German website F1-Insider of former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone.

In the exchange, the Briton appeared to admit that he and former FIA president Max Mosley had been aware of the Renault team’s plot during the 2008 season – knowledge that, if acted upon at the time, could have led to the Singapore race being annulled.

Ecclestone has since claimed he does not remember giving that interview, a defence reiterated in court by his lawyer David Quest KC.

FOM’s Defence: 'Hamilton outperformed Massa'

The opposing side rejected Massa’s claims outright, painting his campaign as a misguided attempt to rewrite sporting history. Quest countered that the Brazilian’s failure to win the title was not the result of any conspiracy.

“Mr Massa’s poor performance in the race was not related to the crash, and neither was Lewis Hamilton’s strong performance,” Quest stated. “Neither of them were aware of Renault’s ploy.”

Backing that position, FOM’s counsel Anneliese Day KC argued that Massa’s loss was simply the product of competition against a generational talent.

“This litigation will not result in Mr Massa getting the prize he wants, and the only ‘winners’ out of a further 12 to 18 months of litigation will be the lawyers,” Day said in her written submission.

“The simple fact is that over the course of both the Singapore Grand Prix and across the 2008 season, Mr Hamilton outperformed Mr Massa (and everyone else).”

“There is nothing unusual or unfair about that: Mr Massa simply had the misfortune to be up against one of the greatest drivers the sport has ever seen, and neither he nor anyone else could beat Mr Hamilton over the course of the season.”

A Legacy on Trial

The pre-trial hearing will conclude on Friday, after which the court will decide whether Massa’s claims merit a full trial or if the case will be dismissed.

The sport’s defendants are pushing hard for the latter, branding Massa’s bid an ill-fated attempt to exhume a settled score – one that overlooks his own pitlane blunder and Hamilton’s season-long supremacy.

• Read also: Massa told own blunders, not ‘Crashgate’, cost him 2008 title

Yet for the ex-Ferrari ace, turned pundit and eternal bridesmaid of ’08, this isn’t revisionism; it’s restitution.

Will the court greenlight a full trial, forcing F1 to confront its skeletons? Or will the one-point heartbreak stay etched in stone, with Hamilton’s first crown gleaming untarnished?

In the shadow of Big Ben, the roar of engines has given way to the clash of briefs – and F1’s past is racing toward an uncertain verdict.

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