Bernie Ecclestone reveals why Felipe Massa should have been world champion in 2008
The former (m) chief treasurer, aged 92, reveals that if the "crashgate" scandal had been properly handled, Lewis Hamilton shouldn't have seven but rather six world championship titles.
In 2008, the title of world champion driver was decided in the last corner of the final lap in Brazil. However, this event, which has left its mark in sports history, is not the only moment to have made an impression.
There is the “crashgate” affair, with Nelson Piquet Junior deliberately crashing during the Singapore Grand Prix to help his teammate at Renault, Fernando Alonso, win the race with the timely deployment of the safety car.
In recounting the scandal, Bernie Ecclestone recalled how he and the president of the FIA at the time, Max Mosley, wanted to prevent the scandal from being uncovered.
Max [Mosley] and I were informed during the 2008 season about what had happened during the race in Singapore, revealed Bernie Ecclestone, quoted by F1-Insider.
Piquet Jr had told his father, Nelson, that the team had asked him to deliberately crash into the wall at a certain point in order to trigger a safety car period and help his teammate Alonso [who won the race].
We had decided to do nothing for now. We wanted to protect the sport and save it from a huge scandal. That’s why I used my influence to persuade my former driver, Nelson Piquet, and told him to keep quiet for the moment.
A matter of timing.
If this case hadn’t come to light a year later, but during the ongoing championship, the former treasurer indicates that Lewis Hamilton wouldn’t have been world champion.
At the time, there was a rule that a world championship ranking was untouchable after the FIA award ceremony at the end of the year, explained the former owner of the Brabham team. So, Hamilton received his trophy and everything was fine. Case closed.
And if…
Although he couldn’t do anything, Bernie Ecclestone now sees things differently. In his opinion, the result of the Singapore Grand Prix should have been invalidated due to Nelson Piquet Jr’s deliberate accident, which gave victory to his teammate. If that had been the case, Felipe Massa would have been the 2008 world champion.
I am still sorry for Felipe today. He won the final race in his home race at São Paulo and did everything correctly. He was deprived of the title he deserved while Hamilton had all the luck in the world and won his first championship.
« Today, I would have done things differently. That’s why, for me, Michael Schumacher is still the only seven-time champion, even if the statistics say otherwise.
