Massa’s court claim can go to trial — What it means for Hamilton’s title

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Felipe Massa’s 2008 title dispute can go to trial, a High Court judge has ruled.

The former F1 driver is seeking £64 million in damages for loss of earnings and sponsorship. The Brazilian believes he is the rightful winner of the 2008 F1 title, after ultimately missing out by a single point.

In a 2023 interview with a German journalist, Bernie Ecclestone claimed that the sport’s executives were aware of ‘Crashgate’ before the end of the 2008 season. Mr Ecclestone, the FIA and FOM are defending the claims.

The final day of the pre-trial hearings took place on 31 October in London. At the time, the FIA’s defense argued that “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,” and that the claim was brought too late. Judge Mr Justice Jay was not persuaded by the latter argument.

Three of Massa’s claims have been dismissed by Mr Justice Jay, but it has been ruled that the trial can go ahead.

The summary of the ruling states: “The Court held that Mr Massa has a real prospect of success on the two English-law tort claims. The inducement of breach and conspiracy claims survive because they do not require Mr Massa to have a directly enforceable contractual right.”

Felipe Massa – Photo: Race Pictures

Hamilton’s 2008 title not in danger

According to Mr Justice Jay’s verdict, the 2008 title originally won by Hamilton cannot be awarded to the Brazilian by the court.

The summary further states: “The judge warned that any future litigation would not necessarily be “plain sailing”. Mr Massa would need to overcome various obstacles on causation.”

“If successful, Mr Massa could in principle recover damages for lost career opportunities, but the court cannot be asked to rewrite the outcome of the 2008 Drivers’ World Championship.”

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