After Carrying the Heartbreak for 15 Years, Felipe Massa Seeks at Least $13,000,000 From FIA for ‘Reputational Damage’

Infamous for the Renault ‘crashgate’ incident, the 2008 F1 season remains one of the most controversial seasons in the sport’s history. Ferrari’s Felipe Massa lost out on the driver’s championship by one point owing to a ‘botched’ pit stop. The Brazillian since holds the FIA responsible for him not winning the driver’s championship that year and is now seeking compensation worth nearly $13,000,000 for reputational damages, according to a report by Reuters.

A letter sent from the London office of Enyo Law to F1 and FIA alleges the organizations consciously ignored the misconduct that led to Massa losing out on the title fifteen years ago. The 42-year-old is now seeking compensation for the monetary losses he endured owing to the alleged negligence by the sport’s governing authorities.

Felipe Massa seeking ‘tens of millions of euros’ in compensation

With Renault’s Piquet Jr.’s deliberate crashing at the 2008 Singapore GP, the Safety Car was deployed, which led to a botched pitstop. Massa fell from first place to thirteenth, with Piquet’s teammate, Alonso, winning the race. Not only did Massa lose the race, but he also lost the driver’s championship by one point to McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton. The Brazillian is now seeking a compensation value of tens of millions of euros which he lost in earnings and bonuses in 2008.

“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. This amount does not cover the serious moral and reputational losses suffered by Mr Massa.”

Massa’s legal team has made it clear that no amount of compensation could cover the reputational damages the Brazilian has endured as he saw the F1 driver’s championship slip away from the palm of his hand. The letter also notifies that if the organizations fail to provide a satisfactory response within fourteen days, the team will move with “legal proceedings in the English courts without further notice.”

A fortnight’s time to come up with a substantive response

Massa and his team have given the FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem, and F1 CEOpritStefano Domencali, 14 days to provide them with a satisfactory response that will see the team not take matters to court.

The ‘Crashgate’ incident stands as one the most prominent blots on a rich legacy of the sport. In 2009, Piquet revealed his team bosses at Renault instructed him to deliberately crash during the race. Bernie Ecclestone later also revealed that he and the then FIA president Max Mosley knew about Renault’s actions but chose not to act on it.

The incident that cost Massa his only driver’s title still haunts the Brazilian. The 42-year-old has spent the last 15 years of his life seeking accountability for the actions of F1’s highest-ranking employees but has had no success so far.