Felipe Massa's £64m claim against F1 and Bernie Ecclestone WILL go to court - amid claims a 'conspiracy' saw him robbed of world title which Lewis Hamilton won by ONE point

Felipe Massa's £64million case against Bernie Ecclestone and Formula One will go to trial, a High Court judge has ruled. 

Massa's claim centres around the 2008 World Drivers' Championship, which saw him finish just one point behind eventual winner Lewis Hamilton. 

The Brazilian former Formula One driver begun his court case against the sport's old chief executive Ecclestone at the end of October, with the defendants' lawyers at the time seeking to dismiss the case on the basis that Massa had bought proceedings too late. 

The end of the 2008 season was marred by 'Crashgate', an incendiary incident where Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr deliberately crashed into the barrier at the Singapore Grand Prix. 

During the subsequent deployment of the safety car, a botched pitstop saw Massa fall out of the points, losing ground in the standings race to Hamilton. 

The 44-year-old alleges that he has been the victim of a 'conspiracy', with Formula One authorities including Ecclestone and then-FIA president Max Moseley, knowing and choosing to cover up by refusing to investigate the incident. 

17 years later, Massa will get his day in court, with Mr Justice Jay declaring in written statements that the defendants' wish to get the case thrown out had failed. 

While Massa's bid to reverse the decision of that World Championship was deemed to have 'no real prospect' by Jay, he wrote: 'He does have a real prospect of proving at trial all the components of his unlawful means conspiracy. The same analysis also applies to the inducement claim.' 

Massa had been seeking various declarations as part of his claim, but Jay confirmed that the results of 2008 would not be reversed, writing: 'In my judgment, Mr Massa is not entitled to claim declaratory relief for reputational or publicity reasons.

'The present claim cannot, of course, rewrite the outcome of the 2008 drivers' world championship, but if declaratory relief along the lines sought were granted that is how Mr Massa would present his victory to the world and it is also how it would be perceived by the public.

'The second declaration is in the terms that were it not for the FIA's breaches of duty, Mr Massa would have won the championship: in other words, that he should have won the championship. The FIA, as an international sporting body outside the reach of this court, could and would simply ignore any such declaration.

'That underscores its lack of practical utility, but the declaration comes too close in my view to impinging on the right of the FIA to govern its own affairs.' 

Ecclestone's lawyer, David Quest KC, previously called the claim 'misguided', while John Mehrzad KC, for the FIA, said Massa's claim was 'torturous as it is overly ambitious' in written submissions last month to see the case thrown out. 

Mehrzad added that Massa's claim 'conspicuously overlooks a catalogue of his own errors' which stopped the Brazilian from claiming the necessary points to win the world title in Singapore. 

But Ecclestone himself reportedly admitted to F1 Insider that he and Mosley knew Piquet Jr crashed deliberately but did nothing in order to 'protect the sport and save it from a huge scandal'.

'At the time, the rule was that a world championship standings were untouchable after the FIA awards ceremony at the end of the year,' Ecclestone added in the interview. 'So Hamilton was offered the trophy and everything was fine.

'I still feel sorry for Massa today. He won the final in his home race in Sao Paulo and did everything right. He was robbed of the title he deserved while Hamilton had all the luck in the world and won his first championship.

'Today I would have settled it differently. That is why, for me, Michael Schumacher is still the sole record holder. Even if the statistics say otherwise.'

Ecclestone has since disavowed the interview, telling Reuters in 2024 that he had no recollection of giving it - but the alleged admission provided Massa with his basis for bringing his claims. 

'After many years, that interview was the first time it became apparent to Mr Massa that there had been a deliberate concealment of a conspiracy that was known,' Nick de Marco, KC, Massa's lawyer, told the court in October. 

'The defendants are very eager to prevent the court from examining their serious wrongdoing. The FIA owed a duty to other members to enforce its regulations; the FIA recognised that duty when it belatedly investigated the crash in 2009.

'Mr Ecclestone's interview confirms this when he said the FIA had sufficient evidence to investigate the crash and should have done so then.

'The international sporting governing body whose whole purpose and reason it has powers is to protect the integrity of the sport.'