Although the circumstances surrounding the Crashgate controversy at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix had been consigned to F1's history books by many, it has become a hot topic again.
An interview Bernie Ecclestone conducted earlier this year suggesting that knowledge of Nelson Piquet Jr's deliberate crash was known early enough for the FIA and FOM to take action before the 2008 title was decided – something he suggested it chose not to do to avoid a 'huge scandal' – prompted Massa to suspect there was more to the case than initially suspected at the time.
Massa's belief on that was further embellished by archive footage of an interview with the late F1 race director Charlie Whiting getting a wider public airing.
In the video, Whiting had revealed that he was told about Renault's conspiracy to win the Singapore GP at the 2008 Brazilian GP, before the title was declared.
Although it is widely accepted that FIA statutes suggest world championships cannot be overturned at this stage, that is not an opinion shared by Massa's lawyers.
With the formal legal process having now kicked off, and Massa's representatives awaiting a response from the FIA and FOM over a 'Letter before Claim' notification it has sent, Autosport has spoken to one of the key players to better understand the background to the case.
Bernardo Viana, from the Sao Paulo Vieira Rezende Advogados law firm that represents Massa in Brazil, has shed light on the action and explained why the team of leading sports lawyers is convinced there is a case to answer.
And Viana is adamant about one thing: Massa's challenge is not about getting compensation for him believing the FIA and FOM had failed to act in the right way, it is about overturning the championship outcome.
"The objective is to bring the trophy home," he said. "It's not financial.
Source: Autosport