Nearly a month ago, Felipe Massa made headlines across the globe as he decided to file a lawsuit against the F1 authorities over the infamous crashgate incident from 2008, which caused him the championship. As the Brazilian seeks over $13,000,000 in compensation, BusinessF1 magazine suggests he might have to put $1,000,000 on the line as security because of his nationality.
London-based Enyo Law is handling Massa’s case and claims their Brazilian client lost “tens of millions of euros” because of the incident involving Renault’s Piquet Jr. The case has been filed in one of the English courts itself, impending further action. Given Massa is a Brazilian, and he is suing the authorities in the UK over an incident that took place in Singapore, the proceedings might not be as straightforward as Massa might have liked.
Felipe Massa might have to put up a million dollars as a security amount
2008 saw one of F1’s biggest scandals when Piquet Jr. admitted to crashing deliberately during the Singapore GP on the orders of his seniors. Whatever the team’s original intentions might have been, it resulted in Felipe Massa losing out on that year’s driver championship by 1 point.
Fifteen years later, Massa seeks a fair monetary value as compensation, but a new report suggests he might have to put some money on the line first.
“Because of Massa’s foreign status, both the FIA and FIG will most likely demand a ‘security of costs’ order, possibly for as much as $1 million, that Massa would have to put up in cash before proceeding.”
Over the last month, many experts have weighed in with their opinions on the matter. While each report comes up with a new angle around the matter, the verdict remains the same- Massa‘s actions are a lost cause. Even the latest report that brings up the security money aspect believes the Brazilian will end up losing his claim because of one significant factor.
Security money would be the least of Massa’s concerns
Even if Massa could put up the potential $1,000,000 amount with ease, it wouldn’t lead to a massive dent in the former driver’s biggest problems. A lack of witnesses might see Massa’s claims get the axe before he can even begin going into the depths of the case.
The biggest names involved in the case include the likes of Stefano Domenicali, Flavio Briatore, and Pat Symonds- all of whom are currently under the employment of F1.
It is only natural that none of them would take the stand against their employer, given that they stand to gain nothing from it. The only possible situation where they will take the stand will be under subpoena, should Massa call them ‘hostile witnesses.’ Other than these people, no other witness (Hamilton, for example) is likely to go against the FIA, given the sensitive nature of the case and its potential future implications.
