The UK Supreme Court will hear F1, the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone appeal against Felipe Massa Crashgate lawsuit, the latest twist in his fight to overturn the 2008 title he lost to Lewis Hamilton by a single point.
Felipe Massa's long campaign to overturn the result of the 2008 Formula 1 World Championship is heading for Britain's highest court. The UK Supreme Court has granted Formula One Management, the FIA and former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone permission to appeal directly against the Brazilian's claim, "leapfrogging" the Court of Appeal because of the legal significance of the case.
At stake is whether Massa's "unlawful means conspiracy" claim can proceed to a full trial. The defendants want it struck out. Massa, who is seeking damages reported at up to 64 million pounds, argues the opposite, and he was defiant after the latest twist.
"I look forward to proving in court that they conspired to conceal the truth, and I will use all legal means to ensure that this injustice is corrected," Massa said. "Formula One is the greatest sport in the world, but it is essential that it is also the fairest."
The dispute traces back to one of the sport's darkest nights. At the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr deliberately crashed on the orders of team principal Flavio Briatore, triggering a safety car that handed the race to his team-mate Fernando Alonso. Massa had been leading; he finished 13th and scored nothing. He went on to lose the title to Lewis Hamilton by a single point at the season finale in Brazil.
Massa's case rests on the argument that F1 and FIA figures became aware the crash was deliberate but chose not to investigate before the 2008 championship was settled, a delay he says cost him the title. Central to that claim are comments Ecclestone made in a 2023 interview, in which he indicated he had learned of the plot during the 2008 season. The "Crashgate" affair only became public in 2009, after which Renault's bosses were sanctioned but the race result stood.
The legal momentum has, until now, run Massa's way. In November a High Court judge ruled the action could go to trial, while rejecting his separate bid for a formal declaration that he should have been crowned champion. In March the same court ordered the defendants to pay Massa 250,000 pounds toward his costs from that round of applications. The Supreme Court's decision to take the appeal directly is a reminder that the substantive fight is far from won.
For now the 2008 record books are unchanged: Hamilton remains champion, Massa the runner-up. Whether that survives a trial, or is settled long before one ever begins, is now a question for the judges rather than the stewards.
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*Originally published on [Newsformula One](https://newsformula.one/article/massa-takes-his-2008-title-fight-to-the-uk-supreme-court). Visit for full coverage.*