Massa sues FIA, FOM and Ecclestone in bid to claim 2008 title

Former Formula One driver Felipe Massa said on Monday he had launched legal action in a London court against the FIA, motorsport's governing body, series owner Formula One Management (FOM) and former FOM CEO Bernie Ecclestone in his bid to win the 2008 title.

The 42-year-old Brazilian added that he was seeking an undisclosed amount of damages.

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Massa, who has declared since last year that he was the “legitimate” champion of 2008 due to the incident known as “Crashgate”, was the runner-up in the drivers' championship behind Lewis Hamilton.

Former Ferrari and Williams driver Massa said in a statement that his case would be heard by the King's Bench division of the High Court.

Massa, who retired in 2017, was leading the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix when fellow Brazilian Nelson Piquet Jr. deliberately crashed his Renault into the wall on lap 14 of the 61-lap race.

The crash triggered a safety car that benefited teammate Fernando Alonso, who took victory while Massa failed to score after a botched pit stop.

Hamilton, who was racing for McLaren at the time and now an honorary citizen of Brazil, ultimately beat Massa by a point for the first of his record seven championships.

Michael Schumacher, Massa's former teammate at Ferrari and a close friend of the Brazilian during his racing career, is the only other driver to have won seven titles.

At the time, F1 had a rule that the outcome of a championship could not be changed after the end-of-season awards ceremony.

Information from The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report