Massa takes action against F1, FIA, Ecclestone in London High Court

LONDON : Former Ferrari driver Felipe Massa has launched legal action against the sport's management, former commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone and the governing FIA over the outcome of the 2008 world championship, his lawyers said on Monday.

Brazilian law firm Vieira Rezende Advogados said in a statement that proceedings had been initiated in the London High Court.

Formula One Management (FOM) and the Paris-based International Automobile Federation would not comment on the move when contacted by Reuters.

Reuters was unable to locate a record of a lawsuit brought by Massa on the electronic filing system for London's High Court.

Massa, 42, is seeking declarations that the FIA breached its own regulations and he would have been champion had it immediately investigated a Singapore Grand Prix crash that subsequently became one of the sport's biggest scandals.

Britain's Lewis Hamilton, now a seven-times world champion and at the time in his second season with McLaren, won that title - his first.

Massa also wants compensation for "considerable financial losses" resulting from what the lawyers said was the failure of the FIA, with Ecclestone and Formula One Management complicit.

The lawyers' statement referred to an Ecclestone quote stating that there had not been "enough information at that time to investigate the matter" and cancel the race in 2008.

It quoted the Briton, now 93, as saying also that if the Singapore race had been cancelled, "Massa would have been world champion" and the Brazilian "was deprived of the title he deserved".

Ecclestone told Reuters last August he could not remember saying the quotes attributed to him.

"Attempts to resolve the matter amicably have not been successful so far, leaving, therefore, no