Felipe Massa is continuing with his legal action over the 2008 F1 title and is open to all avenues being explored.
Felipa Massa lost the 2008 Championship in heartbreaking fashion, with Lewis Hamilton overtaking Timo Glock in the last lap of the last race to take the crown. However, this isn’t the only reason this campaign is so renowned in Formula 1.
The Singapore GP was the site of “Crashgate”, where Renault ordered Nelson Piquet to crash out of the race. This allowed Fernando Alonso to take victory, benefitting from the timing of the Safety Car – orchestrated by the French outfit.
Amongst the consequences of this event was a disastrous pit-stop for Felipe Massa. This ultimately cost the Brazilian points, which (since Hamilton won the Championship by just 1 point) were vital in retrospect.
To be clear, had the outcome in Singapore been different, it stands to reason that the subsequent races wouldn’t have transpired in the exact same way. In any case, this adds some context to the legal activity currently underway.
Massa takes action
According to Massa’s legal team, “F1 and [the] FIA deliberately ignored the misconduct that cheated him out of that title.”
This is in reference to quotes from former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone earlier this year. In an interview, Ecclestone said that he and FIA President Max Mosley had knowledge that Piquet’s crash in Singapore was intentional – but didn’t take action.
Over recent weeks and months, Massa has made several comments about fighting for what he describes as justice. Regardless of how events unfold, the 42-year-old isn’t afraid of speaking passionately on this issue.
In a recent interview, he discussed the implications of this legal case:
“The most important thing is for us to have justice done in the right way,” he told motorsport.com.
“The correct thing, the work [of Massa’s legal team] is the cancellation of the race [Singapore 2008].
“I understand we are 15 years later, but justice has to be done in the right way – and that’s why we are going to fight.”
Massa open to sharing the 2008 title
The Brazilian was asked about the prospect of sharing the 2008 Championship with Lewis Hamilton. Massa believes this scenario shouldn’t be dismissed:
“If justice is done and we think this is the right thing to do – especially because [sharing a title] has happened in other sports – it’s something to be analysed.
“But let’s go after justice and the trophy. That’s the main point.”
It cannot be said this scenario is being entertained seriously within the paddock. For obvious reasons, F1 and the FIA would not favour the outcome of a season being altered after 15 years.
Still, it seems clear that Massa is willing to press the issue for the foreseeable future.
