Bernie Ecclestone claims to have 'NO MEMORY' of damning Crashgate interview

Crashgate

Ecclestone claims to have 'NO MEMORY' of damning Crashgate interview

Felipe Massa has taken legal action against Formula 1 and FIA over Bernie Ecclestone's comments

Anna Malyon

Friday 18 August 2023 18:57

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Former chief executive of Formula 1, Bernie Ecclestone, has said he ‘cannot remember’ comments he made which sparked Felipe Massa to take legal action against F1.

Massa, now 42, has recently initiated legal proceedings against F1 officials and governing body FIA, alleging ‘conspiracy’ that denied him the 2008 championship.

In March 2023, the Brazilian driver initiated legal proceedings after Ecclestone was quoted stating that he and former FIA President Max Mosley were aware of the intentional nature of the Singapore 2008 Grand Prix incident long before they came to light in the public – saying outright that Massa was 'cheated' out of the title.

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However, in the incident referred to as ‘Crashgate’, Ecclestone now has insisted that he does not recall making these comments.

"I don't remember any of this, to be honest. I don't remember giving the interview, for sure," Ecclestone said to Reuters.

Fernando Alonso after winning the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix after teammate Nelson Piquet's crash

'Crashgate' Controversy

After Nelson Piquet Jr. crashed during the Singapore Grand Prix in 2008, the subsequent safety car helped his team-mate Fernando Alonso take victory.

Massa had been leading for majority of the race but an unfortunate pit stop error, where his fuel hose remained attached resulted in lost time, and ultimately caused him to finish outside the points.

Lewis Hamilton secured the 2008 F1 drivers’ championship, narrowly edging out Massa who came agonisingly close to victory, missing out by just a single point.

Lewis Hamilton won the 2008 drivers' championship with Felipe Massa missing out by just one point

Piquet Jr. later admitted that the crash was deliberate, but not until the following year – after the 2008 title had been, as the rules then stated, irrevocably awarded.

Ecclestone’s remarks promoted Massa to view this as an opening to take further action against F1. This intention was formally communicated in a letter addressed to F1 chief Stefano Domenicalli.

"Simply put, Mr Massa is the rightful 2008 Driver's Champion, and F1 and FIA deliberately ignored the misconduct that cheated him out of that title," said the letter. “Mr Massa is unable to fully quantify his losses at this stage but estimates that they are likely to exceed tens of millions of Euros.

"This amount does not cover the serious moral and reputational losses suffered by Mr Massa."

Speaking to Rueters in May, Massa claimed that he simply wanted ‘justice’ for the event, explaining why he has taken the legal action.

"If the most important people from Formula One and the FIA knew in 2008 and didn’t do anything, you think that was fair? It’s not fair," he said.

We are yet to understand the scope of legal action that will be taken against F1, yet we anticipate that it will gradually unfold over the forthcoming months.