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Massa’s lawyers give F1 and FIA another month to respond – ARN News Centre
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AFP
Lawyers for Brazilian Felipe Massa have given Formula One and the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) another month to respond to threatened court action over the 2008 world championship.
The former Ferrari driver, now 42, alleges a “conspiracy” denied him the title.
A mid-October deadline had been set for Formula One and the FIA to respond to an August 15 Letter Before Claim but lawyer Bernardo Viana said in a statement on Thursday that an extension had been agreed.
“FIA and FOM (Formula One Management) are completing an internal investigation and have requested one last extension to the deadline they initially asked for, from October 12 to November 15,” he said.
“We have agreed to this final period because if the new administration is indeed looking into the matter in good faith, they will certainly reach the same conclusion we and so many people around the world have.”
The extension means the deadline is now after the Brazilian Grand Prix at Sao Paulo’s Interlagos circuit on November 5.
Britain’s Lewis Hamilton won the 2008 title, his first of seven, by a single point in a year that became notorious after Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr. revealed in 2009 he had been told to crash deliberately at the Singapore Grand Prix.
Massa, who retired in 2017, was leading in Singapore when fellow-Brazilian Piquet crashed into the wall on lap 14 of the 61-lap race, triggering a safety car period.
Piquet’s teammate Fernando Alonso went on to win the race while Massa failed to score after a bungled pitstop.
Massa now claims the race should have been cancelled because the sport’s leaders allegedly knew before the end of the season what had happened but covered it up.
Two of the key figures from that time, former FIA race director Charlie Whiting and then-FIA president Max Mosley, have died while former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone is 92.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem, who took office at the end of 2021, told Reuters in Qatar last weekend that Massa had been in touch and he was leaving the matter with the FIA’s legal team.
“I answered him saying ‘It’s up to you, you do what you think is right for you but the FIA will have to protect themselves,'” he said.
“We have our rules, we have our sporting rules, our statutes which say certain period after that you can’t (do anything) but people can challenge that,” he added.
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Tributes have poured in after the son of former Chelsea star Eddie Newton was found dead alongside his friend following a hike in the UAE, where temperatures soared to 50C.
Cassius Newton, 34, and his friend Aran Martinson, 33, were found by rescuers on July 18 after setting out on a hike in the mountainous Wadi Naqab region.
The pair, from Dorset and Essex respectively, both lived and worked in the UAE. Their bodies were discovered between 3km and 4km from their vehicle.
According to a report, Chelmsford area coroner Michelle Brown said their provisional causes of death included cardiac and respiratory arrest.
Cassius, a non-league footballer, was the son of former Chelsea midfielder and coach Eddie Newton, who spent more than a decade with the club.
His wife was in the UK when she became concerned after Cassius failed to contact her following the hike and reported him missing.
The two men had been living at a luxury resort in Ras Al Khaimah.
Tributes after desert tragedy
Tributes poured in after the deaths.
Aran’s wife described him as “incredibly driven, hardworking and ambitious”, saying he had recently begun a new chapter in his career and was excited about the future.
Blackfield & Langley Football Club paid tribute to their former player, saying: “It is with heavy hearts that we share the sad news of the passing of former player Cassius Newton; our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with his family and friends during this difficult time.”
National League club Eastleigh, where Cassius had previously played, said it was “deeply saddened” by his death.
Chelsea connection
Cassius’ father Eddie Newton played for Chelsea from 1990 to 2001 and famously scored in the club’s 1997 FA Cup final victory.
The former midfielder also represented Cardiff City, Birmingham City, Oxford United and Barnet.
After retiring as a player, Newton moved into coaching, working as assistant manager at MK Dons and West Brom before returning to Chelsea.
He later served as assistant manager under Roberto Di Matteo and Rafael Benítez.
(With inputs from BBC, The Sun)
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