As originally reported by Autosport, Massa’s lawyers wrote to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem and FOM CEO Stefano Domenicali earlier this month with a Letter Before Claim setting out the details of the Brazilian driver’s legal pursuit to rectify him losing the 2008 F1 world championship.
According to the document, Massa's legal team alleged the Brazilian was "the victim of a conspiracy" over the Crashgate conspiracy at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
It argued that the FIA and FOM deliberately acted to avoid a scandal over what happened in Singapore, despite being told of the cheating affair early enough to take action.
Massa’s push for legal remedy was prompted by both an interview with Bernie Ecclestone claiming that the matter was brushed under the carpet, and an archive chat with former F1 race director Charlie Whiting who revealed he was told about Nelson Piquet Jr’s deliberate Singapore crash at that year’s Brazilian GP season finale.
It was suggested that Massa losing the championship as the result of what happened in Singapore had cost him millions in income, as well as ‘moral’ and ‘reputational’ damages.
Autosport has learned that both the FIA and FOM have responded to Massa’s original letter.
But both have indicated that, in the wake of F1’s summer break period with personnel being away, it was impossible to provide a formal response to the individual claims in the short term so needed more time.
Source: Autosport