FIA declares 'success' after High Court judge's Massa pre-trial case verdict

A High Court judge ruled that the case can go to trial based on the success of two tort claims.

On the other hand, Massa had three claims dismissed by the Courts after the hearing, including the claim that he would have won the title had the FIA not breached its regulations during Crashgate.

The former Ferrari driver lost the 2008 F1 World Championship to Lewis Hamilton in the final round of the season in Brazil.

Massa's put forth a claim towards the FIA that he failed to clinch the title in Brazil due to Crashgate, the most controversial crash in recent F1 history.

Crashgate was a sporting scandal where Nelson Piquet Jr deliberately crashed during the Singapore Grand Prix to give his Renault teammate, Fernando Alonso, an advantage.

This claim was dismissed in Court because "there was no real prospect of such declarations being made by the Court," according to the summary of the ruling.

Massa's tort claim and breach of contract claims against the FIA were also dismissed on the grounds that they were "statute-barred."

As well as this, the Court emphasised that they had "serious doubts" about Massa's breach of duty claim, especially as they dismissed the claim based on the fact that there was "no real prospect of success."

The FIA has claimed a victory in a long legal pursuit in the summary judgment application.

The 'future litigation' part of the summary of the judge's decision states: "The judge warned that any future litigation would not necessarily be “plain sailing”. Mr Massa would need to overcome various obstacles on causation.

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