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Photo: Andre Penner / AP
Former Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa wants to become world champion – in court.
As the Brazilian law firm Vieira Rezende Advogados confirmed, Massa has filed a lawsuit in London against the world automobile association Fia, World Cup rights holder Formula One Management (FOM) and ex-Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone.
It's about the 2008 world championship title, which Lewis Hamilton narrowly won, and a scandal known in Formula 1 as "Crashgate".
The 42-year-old Brazilian Massa and his lawyers had been preparing the lawsuit over the past few months.
“I have always said that I will fight until the end,” said Massa in a statement.
"Since the FIA and the FOM have decided not to do anything, we will try to correct this historical injustice in court." Massa wants to be subsequently recognized as world champion.
He is also demanding damages in a previously unknown amount.
"Victim of a Conspiracy"
As early as August last year, his lawyers are said to have informed Formula 1 boss Stefano Domenicali and FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem in a letter about possible legal action.
Massa was "the victim of a conspiracy perpetrated by people at the highest levels of Formula 1 together with the FIA and Formula 1 management," the letter said, according to the Reuters news agency.
Massa is talking about an incident at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. On the narrow street circuit, the Brazilian Nelson Piquet Jr. deliberately crashed his Renault into the guardrails.
The accident and the subsequent safety car phase enabled his teammate Fernando Alonso to win.
As became public in 2009, those responsible for Renault had ordered the crash.
Massa had led the night race in Singapore for a long time.
After the Piquet accident, Ferrari failed to make a pit stop, causing Massa to fall back to 13th place and not score any points.
At the end of the season he was only one point short of Lewis Hamilton in the McLaren, who became world champion for the first time.
The fact that Massa went to court almost 16 years later is not least due to an interview by Bernie Ecclestone with “F1-Insider”.
Accordingly, the FIA knew before the end of the 2008 season that the accident was intentional.
However, Ecclestone still decided against investigating the case because "we wanted to protect the sport and save it from a major scandal."
Massa ended his Formula 1 career in 2017.
In addition to Ferrari, he also drove for the Sauber and Williams racing teams, but he never became world champion.
mlb/AP/dpa