MADRID, 12 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The former executive director of Formula 1 Bernie Ecclestone showed this Tuesday his support for the former Brazilian driver Felipe Massa, ensuring that he did “the right thing” by suing him, the International Automobile Federation (FIA) and the F1 company before the High Court of Justice in London, in his claim to the 2008 world champion title.
“If you had asked me, I would have told you that the right thing to do was to sue and let a judge decide what is right and what is wrong,” said the former CEO of the competition in statements to the PA Media agency.
However, Ecclestone did not want to guess the future verdict. “I can’t say anything about the result or what will happen. I have no idea, I don’t think anyone does, but from his point of view, it is better for a judge to hand down the sentence. It will be more helpful for him,” he said. .
This Monday, Massa presented a complaint before the High Court of Justice in London to the FIA, the Formula 1 company and Ecclestone, in his claim for the 2008 world champion title. “I always said that I would fight until the end. As “The FIA and the FOM -Formula One Management- have decided to do nothing, we will seek reparation for this historical injustice in the courts,” said the former driver.
What is known as ‘Crashgate’ broke out at the end of the 2008 season, when Massa missed the Formula 1 title by a single point; With this, the British Lewis Hamilton became champion.
Nelson Piquet Jr., then a Renault driver, accused his engineer of ordering him to cause an accident during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix to gain a sporting advantage for his teammate, the Spanish Fernando Alonso. During that race, the appearance of the safety car for the Piquet accident caused Massa to finish thirteenth, outside the points zone.
In 2023, Bernie Ecclestone admitted during an interview that he knew in 2008 what had happened in Singapore. However, the then head of Formula 1 chose to remain silent to maintain the integrity of the competition. After hearing these statements, Massa asked for recognition of the achievement and compensation for damages, something that he is now prosecuting.