Rob Smidley, former track engineer for Massa: “He does it for justice”

Just one small detail, it’s the gap that existed on the evening of the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, the ultimate race of the season, which saw Lewis Hamilton win his first world title in front of a tearful Felipe Massa, despite his victory in his home country.

Besides the epic finale at Interlagos, the 2008 season will be marked by the Crashgate scandal in Singapore, which was made public a few months later. As Formula 1 raced for the first time in the city-state, it was Fernando Alonso behind the wheel of his Renault R28 who won the race.

The cheating of Renault and Briatore.

The double world champion had stopped at the pit shortly before his teammate Nelson Piquet Jr crashed and caused the safety car to come out on the track. At that time, the pit lane was closed during the procedure.

Flavio Briatore, the executive director of the French team at the time, claims that it is merely a fortunate coincidence. However, the son of the triple Brazilian world champion is dismissed from Renault and reveals that his former boss deliberately cheated to win this Grand Prix.

The cancellation of the Grand Prix would change the standings in the championship.

In 2023, Bernie Ecclestone stated that Formula 1 was aware of the cheating from the beginning but chose not to condemn it in order to avoid a second scandal in the sport after McLaren’s Spygate involving Ferrari. Felipe Massa feels robbed and decides to launch a legal proceeding, requesting the cancellation of the race’s result.

Lewis Hamilton finished third in the Grand Prix, while Massa was 13th and didn’t score any points. If the result is cancelled, the Briton would lose the 6 points he earned that day and as a result, Felipe Massa could be declared the world champion by default.

Rob Smidley supports Felipe Massa but is afraid of the consequences.

While the result of the 2008 championship has been finalized for a long time, this legal procedure could change everything. However, Rob Smedley, former race engineer of the Brazilian at Ferrari, believes that if the court rules in favor of Felipe Massa in this case, it could lead to other similar situations in the future.

I have always been a person who, no matter what happened yesterday, whether it was good or bad, I pick myself up, take stock, and move on. I don’t want there to be any more confusion about it, it doesn’t make sense to me. What interests me is what’s happening today, tomorrow, and the day after. But that’s my personal opinion, explains Rob Smedley.

What I can say is that it’s a subject that Felipe [Massa] holds dear. It’s no secret that Felipe is a very close friend of mine. It’s something that is close to his heart and that he is passionate about. When he talks about it, he is very convinced that he is doing it for what he believes is justice. Everyone should have the right to fight for what they believe is right, affirms the British person.

Interviewed by The Race about an audio interview, Rob Smidley expresses concerns about the potential sporting consequences of such a decision.

« There are many different parties involved if we start going back. I have no idea where it will stop. If it does happen, what will it open up in terms of sporting decisions from the past and not just in F1. This doesn’t mean it’s good or bad, I’m not trying to take sides. It’s just a really interesting aspect of all of this. If there is a decision that supports what Felipe pursued, it will be very interesting to see how the sport handles unfair decisions from the past. »

He remains however neutral and prefers to wait. « This is not to say that it is good or bad, I am not trying to take sides. It’s just a very interesting aspect of it all. If a decision is made in favor of Felipe, it will be very interesting to see how the sport deals with unjust decisions made in the past », wonders the former member of the Scuderia Ferrari.