As revealed by Autosport earlier this month, Massa has been spurred into motion by feedback from former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone suggesting that data of the controversial ‘crashgate’ second on the 2008 Singapore GP got here early sufficient for motion to be taken that season.
Nonetheless, by the point that Nelson Piquet Jr.’s deliberate crash that helped Renault team-mate Fernando Alonso win was formally investigated the next 12 months, it was too late to return and amend the race end result.
Chatting with F1-Insider, Ecclestone had mentioned: “We had sufficient data in time to analyze the matter. In accordance with the statutes, we must always have cancelled the race in Singapore beneath these situations.
“Meaning it could by no means have occurred for the championship standings.”
With the factors that Massa misplaced to title rival Lewis Hamilton in that Singapore race proving to be crucial to the end result of the championship battle, the Brazilian is effectively conscious that if the occasion has been cancelled by the FIA then he would have ended the season on high.
Massa mentioned that Ecclestone’s revelation about figuring out of the Singapore GP occasions early sufficient for motion to be taken was sufficient for him to consider if there have been choices to name for a authorized evaluation.
Chatting with Autosport just lately, he mentioned: “There are guidelines, and there are lots of issues that, relying on the nation, you can’t return after 15 years to resolve a state of affairs.
“However I intend to review the state of affairs; examine what the legal guidelines say, and the foundations. We have now to have an concept of what it’s attainable to do.”
Felipe Massa, Ferrari F2008
Picture by: Sutton Photos
Autosport has discovered that Massa has now pulled collectively a workforce of legal professionals to judge the state of affairs and work out definitively if there are any grounds to take the matter additional.
Considered one of their first actions, nevertheless, has been to make sure that any more the state of affairs will probably be handled quietly behind closed doorways, which suggests no extra public statements from Massa over the newest steps.
Whereas Massa is pushing on with evaluating the state of affairs, there don’t seem like any practical choices to problem the 2008 championship.
The FIA’s personal Worldwide Sporting Code doesn’t enable protests after a race and any proper to request a evaluation expires 14 calendar days after a contest – and 4 days previous to the date of that 12 months’s FIA prize-giving ceremony.
Moreover, the FIA’s judicial system is obvious that the best authority to make any ruling is the unbiased Worldwide Court docket of Enchantment, and that any individuals concerned in a championship comply with abide by this. So, there aren’t any various courts that Massa may use.
Article 1.3.1b of the ISC states that rivals: “Shall undertake to submit themselves with out reserve to the above and to the selections of the sporting authority and to the results ensuing therefrom.”
Whereas, in principle, Massa may search out the views of the Court docket of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), it has no jurisdiction over the FIA on points like this.
The FIA statutes dictate that the CAS could solely be concerned in issues referring to the FIA’s Anti-Doping Disciplinary Committee.