Hearings looming for Massa's crashgate quest

Felipe Massa says his legal campaign over the 2008 “Crashgate” scandal is about more than just his own lost world title bid.

The former Ferrari driver confirmed on Brazilian podcast Na Ponta dos Dedos that four days of hearings will take place in London at the end of October.

"Obviously, it's an intense effort by the entire team of lawyers involved in this process," said Massa, now 44. "There's a lot of work behind this hearing. It's very important, as an explanation to the judge, to explain that everything that happened isn't part of sports."

He labelled the affair a "conspiracy" that damaged both himself and his country. "That's not acceptable in sports, and unfortunately, my country and I paid the lion's share," Massa insisted.

"I never imagined I'd go through this. It's not easy, it's very difficult, but justice must be done, and we have to fight for justice."

Massa said he feels a duty to carry the fight as a precedent. "Not only for myself, but as an example for the future, so that people know that it is possible to fight for what is fair, for what is right," he explained.

He also cited Bernie Ecclestone’s past admission that the 2008 Singapore GP should have been cancelled, and claimed Nelson Piquet Jr informed the FIA of the deliberate crash as early as Interlagos that year.

Turning his criticism to Piquet's famous father, Nelson Sr, Massa said: "Nelson Piquet is a three-time world champion. He knows what a title means to him and his country, to the development of motorsport in his country, and they disappeared. If I were him, I would embrace the cause and join the fight of another driver, from the same country, who suffered a very sad and unacceptable situation."

Massa also linked the episode to the decline of Brazilian representation in Formula 1 today. "After that there was only me racing after 2011, after that we only had a few drivers," he reflected. "This shows what the title would represent and how the development of motorsport depends on the results achieved by the country's drivers."