Former Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone is defending himself against allegations made by Felipe Massa. The Brazilian ex-Formula 1 driver is, among other things, suing the Brit for his handling of the 2008 Crashgate scandal. According to Massa, the actions of Ecclestone, the FIA, and the FOM following the scandal were ‘unacceptable’. The British businessman is now defending himself: ‘At the time, there was not enough evidence to do anything.’
Seventeen years after Crashgate, the scandal is still a topic of discussion. Felipe Massa is filing a lawsuit against the FIA, the FOM, and Bernie Ecclestone for the way they handled the scandal. “Those charged with protecting the sport have directly violated their duties. They should not benefit from hiding their own misconduct,” Massa harshly judged the three parties in an interview with The Times. “Such actions are unacceptable in any aspect of life, but especially in a sport followed by millions, including children.”
Ecclestone is alleged to have admitted in an earlier interview with F1-Insider that he and former FIA chairman Max Mosley discovered in 2008 that Nelson Piquet Jr. had deliberately crashed on Renault’s orders. The scandal was then allegedly swept under the rug to avoid damage to their image.
Ecclestone Defends Himself
Now 94 years old, Ecclestone tells The Times that he did not remember the interview with F1-Insider until Massa brought it up. “It was an interview I gave to someone in Germany,” the Brit explains. “The guy spoke broken English. He took some notes and they were then picked up by someone in England. Not only my own lawyers, but also those of the FIA and Formula 1, do not see how this can be used as evidence in a lawsuit.”
According to the former Formula 1 boss, there was also no way the results of the Singapore GP could be altered or even scrapped. “There were absolutely no provisions for that. Max (Mosley, ed.) knew at the time that there was not enough evidence to do anything. That only came later when Nelson (Piquet Jr., ed.) decided to talk about it.” In addition, former FIA chairman Mosley, according to Ecclestone, never said that the scandal should be swept under the rug. “He only said it was not good for the image of Formula 1,” Ecclestone concludes.
