Massa has assembled legal team to evaluate 2008 F1 title review

As revealed by Autosport earlier this month, Massa has been spurred into action by comments from former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone suggesting that knowledge of the controversial 'crashgate' moment at the 2008 Singapore GP came early enough for action to be taken that season.

However, by the time that Nelson Piquet Jr.'s deliberate crash that helped Renault team-mate Fernando Alonso win was formally investigated the following year, it was too late to go back and amend the race result.

Speaking to F1-Insider, Ecclestone had said: "We had enough information in time to investigate the matter. According to the statutes, we should have cancelled the race in Singapore under these conditions.

"That means it would never have happened for the championship standings."

With the points that Massa lost to title rival Lewis Hamilton in that Singapore race proving to be critical to the outcome of the championship battle, the Brazilian is well aware that if the event has been cancelled by the FIA then he would have ended the season on top.

Massa said that Ecclestone's revelation about knowing of the Singapore GP events early enough for action to be taken was enough for him to think about if there were options to call for a legal review.

Speaking to Autosport recently, he said: "There are rules, and there are many things that, depending on the country, you cannot go back after 15 years to resolve a situation.

"But I intend to study the situation; study what the laws say, and the rules. We have to have an idea of what it is possible to do."

Felipe Massa, Ferrari F2008

Photo by: Sutton Images

Autosport has learned that Massa has now pulled together a team of lawyers to evaluate the situation and work out definitively if there are any grounds to take the matter further.

One of their first actions, however, has been to ensure that from now on the situation will be dealt with quietly behind closed doors, which means no more public statements from Massa over the latest steps.

While Massa is pushing on with evaluating the situation, there do not appear to be any realistic options to challenge the 2008 championship.

The FIA's own International Sporting Code does not allow protests after a race and any right to request a review expires 14 calendar days after a competition – and four days prior to the date of that year's FIA prize-giving ceremony.

Furthermore, the FIA's judicial system is clear that the highest authority to make any ruling is the independent International Court of Appeal, and that any persons involved in a championship agree to abide by this. So, there are no alternative courts that Massa could use.

Article 1.3.1b of the ISC states that competitors: "Shall undertake to submit themselves without reserve to the above and to the decisions of the sporting authority and to the consequences resulting therefrom."

While, in theory, Massa could seek out the views of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), it has no jurisdiction over the FIA on issues like this.

The FIA statutes dictate that the CAS may only be involved in matters relating to the FIA's Anti-Doping Disciplinary Committee.