Massa applies to the UK Supreme Court

As Motorsport.com originally reported, Massa’s lawyers wrote to FIA President Mohamed Ben Sulayem and FIA CEO Stefano Domenicali earlier this month in a pre-claim letter detailing the Brazilian driver’s legal pursuit to rectify his loss of the 2008 race. Formula 1 World Championship.

According to the document, Massa’s legal team alleged that the Brazilian was a “victim of a conspiracy” over Crashgate at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.

It alleged that the FIA ​​and Fomm had acted deliberately to avoid scandal in Singapore, despite being told of Renault’s cheating at that race long before the necessary action was taken.

Massa’s lawsuit was prompted by statements by Bernie Ecclestone in an interview that the matter had been swept under the rug, and by former Formula 1 racing director Charlie Whiting, who revealed he had been tipped off about the intentional incident by Nelson Piquet Jr in Singapore at the season-ending Grand Prix. Brazilian for that year.

Massa’s loss of the championship as a result of what happened in Singapore was said to have cost him millions in revenue, as well as “moral” and “reputational” damage.

Motorsport.com has learned that both the FIA ​​and FOM have responded to Massa’s original letter, but both noted that after the F1 summer break period, with the absence of staff, it was impossible to provide an official response to individual claims in F1. Short term, so they needed more time.

This situation did not sit well with Massa’s team, which increased the need for answers from the FIA ​​and FOAM in this regard.

Motorsport.com can reveal that Massa’s legal team has responded to both the FIA ​​and Foam, telling them that they do not consider a potential three-month delay in dealing with the matter to be “reasonable”.

The letters, seen by Motorsport.com, claim: “Work on the response should have begun immediately upon receipt of the letter prior to the claim and that an absence over the summer should not have prevented this.”

Furthermore, he says that he does not consider any potential delay in processing Massa’s response request to be acceptable.

The messages go on to say that if an official response is not provided by Friday 8 September, the matter will be taken to the UK Supreme Court to enforce the required responses.

The letters add: “The indefinite response period is inconsistent with the prior action protocol.” “Please submit your response by 16:00 on 8 September 2023, otherwise we expect to be instructed to bring claims to the UK High Court.”

Massa’s legal team wants a quick response from both the FIA ​​and FOM as they are willing to take legal action in other jurisdictions, but they believe it is best to do so only after they get answers to their questions from the FIA. and FOM.FOM in Great Britain.

As the matter is in the hands of justice, neither the FIA ​​nor the FIA ​​wished to make an official comment on the situation on Motorsport.com.

An FIA spokesperson said: “The FIA ​​acknowledges receipt of correspondence from representatives of Mr Felipe Massa. The matter is under review and we will not comment at this time.”