Surprise at Massa: 'He never answered my message'

F1 News

Massa surprised after FIA president Ben Sulayem statement
28 October 2023 at 16:15
  • Cas van de Kleut

Felipe Massa is still in a legal battle to get his 'stolen' world title after all. The Brazilian has heard little from the FIA, but FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem has made statements about the 2008 world title and the legal battle with Massa. The former Ferrari driver was surprised to see these statements.

It has been going on for a while about the world title Massa missed out on in 2008. Bernie Ecclestone acknowledged during the season that he had known about the Crashgate scandal, in which Nelson Piquet Jr. put his car into the wall to give victory to Fernando Alonso. According to Massa, the race should never have counted, depriving the Brazilian of his title and many bonuses.

Ben Sulayem ruling

Massa filed a lawsuit after the FIA did not respond to the letter the former Formula One driver sent to the FIA. Speaking to Reuters.com, Ben Sulayem commented on the case: "We have our rules, we have our sporting rules, and our statutes, which say a certain period after that you can't [do anything]... but people can challenge that. It's not the book of God."

Massa surprised after FIA president's statement

The Brazilian was surprised after this ruling, he told Autosport.com: "In the end, I didn't have a conversation with him. I sent a message explaining the case and saying that I was available for us to talk, but he never responded to me." Massa additionally says his lawyers are aware that the FIA book is not the book of god.