SEATTLE - Former Formula 1 driver and one of Brazil's finest in the history of the competition, Felipe Massa, has filed a lawsuit in the London High Court against the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), Formula One Management (FOM) and Bernie Ecclestone, former chief executive of the Formula One Group, over the results of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, in which he lost the driver's championship by a point to then McLaren driver Lewis Hamilton.
A race that quickly became an infamous moment in Formula 1, the race is often remembered as "Crashgate," a reference to the moment when Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr. deliberately crashed into the wall at the 17th turn on the 14th lap of the race to give teammate Fernando Alonso a better chance at winning. The location of the accident meant the safety car had to be deployed while the debris was cleaned off the track.
