The legal precedent that makes outcome of Felipe Massa's F1 lawsuit already written

Felipe Massa and the FIA. A dispute, with the outcome of a world championship at stake, the 2008 one, which is destined to be decided in a courtroom. Indeed, the Brazilian has decided to turn to the FIA Court of Appeal to be recognized for damages due to what, according to his lawyers’ theory, was a tampered championship.

Yet, the outcome of the lawsuit risks being decided from the start.

The precedent that seals Felipe Massa’s fate:

2023 GT Open Championship. Fifth round, Red Bull Ring. Poor management of the Safety Car meant that the Motopark team, leaders before the safety car was deployed, saw themselves dramatically disadvantaged. The team decided to appeal to the FIA Tribunal. During the lawsuit, the championship organizers opted to cancel the race results.

A power that, according to the FIA, the organizers do not have. “Neither the stewards nor the organizers have the power to cancel the outcome of the race,” the Federation explains. Such power, in fact, is reserved only for the International Tribunal of the Federation, which can provide for it upon request from a team.

And it is precisely this circumstance that could see Felipe Massa’s hopes sink. No team, in fact, protested against the outcome of the 2008 Singapore GP edition. Consequently, the Federation would not have been able to cancel the race results officially. Similarly, as mentioned, the Regulations prevent organizers and stewards from intervening in the outcome of a race.

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Felipe Massa’s hopes are now very slim. Although it’s true that Bernie Ecclestone, at the time head of the FOM, admitted to being aware of the “crashgate” scandal, the absence of a provision in the Regulations that allows for reviewing the results of a race in a similar case seems to lean towards a definitive failure of the Brazilian’s legal action.

Felipe Massa