Massa’s lawyers sue F1 for loss of title – 08/17/2023 – Sport

Lawyers representing the driver Felipe Massa called this Thursday (17) the heads of F1 and the FIA ​​(International Automobile Federation) to seek compensation for what they classify as a “conspiracy” that took the world title of the category in 2008 from the Brazilian. .

Under the laws of the United Kingdom, where the process was started, the first step is to send a formal letter before the claim in court.

Massa’s defense addressed the document to F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali and FIA president Mohammed Bin Sulayem.

Excerpts from the letter were released by Reuters, and the Sheet had access to the full eight-page content, signed by lawyer Enyo Law, from a firm based in London. The Brazilian also has representatives in the United States, Switzerland, France and Brazil.

In the document, the representative states that the driver was “victim of a conspiracy committed by individuals at the highest level of F1, together with the FIA ​​and Formula 1 Management”, the latter being the entity that commercially represents the main category of motorsport.

The lawyer also says that Massa lost tens of millions of euros in prizes and bonuses that would have come from winning.

“Mr Massa is unable to fully quantify his losses at this stage, but estimates that they are likely to exceed tens of millions of euros,” the lawyer said in the letter. “This amount does not cover the serious moral and reputational losses suffered by Mr. Massa.”

In an interview with Sheet in April, the pilot said he hopes for support from Ferrari, the team he was racing for that season, in the lawsuit. And that his main objective was not financial, but a historic reparation for Brazilian motorsport.

“We start to think about what this means not only for me, but what it means for the country, for motorsport, for driver training”, he declared at the time.

A sports repair, however, is very difficult to occur, since there is no easy way to do it. The FIA’s International Sporting Code states that the time limit for contesting a result expires 14 calendar days after a competition.

In the letter presented now, Enyo Law describes in detail the facts that occurred at the 2008 Singapore GP, when fellow Brazilian Nelsinho Piquet, son of three-time world champion Nelson Piquet, crashed on purpose during the stage at the Marina Bay circuit to benefit his then teammate, Spaniard Fernando Alonso.

When hitting the wall, he was following orders from his boss at Renault, Flavio Briatore, and engineer Pat Symonds, as he said in his testimony to the FIA ​​(International Automobile Federation). Massa was leading the race at the time of the crash and, indirectly, ended up being harmed.

As the race management triggered the yellow flag, Ferrari called him to the pits, but released him to return to the track without removing the refueling hose. The Brazilian ended up being punished and finished the race in 13th, a result that impacted the outcome of the World Championship.

“Simply put, Mr Massa is the rightful 2008 champion and F1 and the FIA ​​have deliberately ignored the misconduct that stripped him of that title,” the letter reads.

Massa decided to seek justice after former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone said in March this year that he and former FIA president Max Mosley knew in 2008 that then-Renault driver Nelson Piquet’s accident was deliberate. , but did not act on the occasion.

According to Reuters, an FIA spokesman confirmed receipt of correspondence from Massa’s representatives and added: “The matter is under review and we will not be making any comments at this stage.”

Stefano Domenicali, chief executive of F1, in turn, has not yet publicly commented on the letter.