Massa wants to study the legal options regarding the loss of the title in 2008 to Hamilton
Following the recent revelations of former Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone, the Brazilian has announced that he is currently exploring legal options in light of his defeat in the 2008 championship.
Brazil 2008
Felipe Massa won 11 Formula 1 victories, all achieved with Ferrari from 2006 to 2013, and if we had to remember just one, there is no doubt that the Brazilian driver’s last success on his home turf during the final race of the 2008 season would be mentioned.
Obtained during his national Grand Prix, he also experienced that day the biggest defeat of his career. Brushing, with the tips of his fingers, the world champion title, Massa lost it a few seconds later, after crossing the finish line.
His rival, a certain Lewis Hamilton, managed to snatch the point he needed to secure the title in the last corner of the final lap.
A Singapore Grand Prix that changes everything
In 2009, the “Crashgate” scandal broke out. It was revealed that the Renault team, then led by Flavio Briatore, had manipulated the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix by intentionally causing an accident involving their driver, Nelson Piquet Jr. An event that allowed his teammate Fernando Alonso to secure the victory.
During the safety car intervention, Massa was leading the race, but a fuel hose stuck in his car caused him to lose everything, while his championship rival, Hamilton, finished on the podium.
After his revelations, Massa blamed the incident for his championship defeat, requesting the cancellation of the race result. However, this was not possible according to the FIA statutes.
Bernie Ecclestone breaks his silence
Except that, 13 years after these events, the former owner of Formula 1, Bernie Ecclestone, revealed that he was aware of his actions at the time they occurred, indicating afterwards that Felipe Massa should have been the world champion in 2008 if he had acted accordingly.
There is a rule that says that once a championship is decided, from the moment the driver receives the champion trophy, things cannot be changed, even if it has been proven that it was a theft, highlights the Vice World Champion of 2008.
« At the time, Ferrari’s lawyers told me about this rule. We went to see other lawyers and the response was that there was nothing we could do. So, logically, I believed in this situation. But 15 years later, we learn that the former category owner says that he discovered it in 2008, at the same time as the president of the FIA, and that they did nothing to avoid tarnishing the F1’s name. »
« It’s very sad to know that the outcome of this race was supposed to be cancelled and that I would have had a title. In the end, it’s me who lost the most with this result. So, we will try to understand all of this. »
Massa wants justice to be served
After learning about his revelations, the Brazilian reacted, revealing a new motivation to seek justice.
(I) I intend to study the situation, to study what the laws and rules say. We need to have an idea of what is possible to do, says the former Ferrari driver.
I think that if you’ve been punished for something that wasn’t your fault, and it’s the result of theft, a stolen race, then justice must be served. In fact, the right thing to do is to cancel the outcome of that race. That’s the only justice that can be served in a case like this.
« We have already seen other situations occur in sports, like that of Lance Armstrong (cyclist), who was proven to have used doping and lost all his titles. What is the difference? »
