Overview
- Preliminary hearings began at the Royal Courts of Justice before Mr Justice Robert Jay, with a three‑day session scheduled to conclude Friday and a ruling expected at a later date.
- Felipe Massa seeks around £64 million in damages and a declaration that the FIA breached its own rules by failing to promptly investigate the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
- The case hinges on Nelson Piquet Jr.’s admitted deliberate crash in Singapore that aided Fernando Alonso, for which Renault figures were punished in 2009 while the race result and championship stood.
- Lawyers for F1, the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone argue the claim was brought too late and say Massa’s pit‑stop fiasco and unsafe release in Singapore were the proximate causes of his failure to score.
- Ecclestone’s 2023 interview suggesting prior knowledge of the fix triggered the lawsuit; his counsel told the court he does not recall giving the interview, which he has since said was mistranslated.