Bernie Ecclestone SLAMS Felipe Mass over Crashgate lawsuit, says Lewis Hamilton could’ve sued FIA for 2021 Abu Dhabi GP

Bernie Ecclestone believed that Felipe Massa only wanted money from his battle with F1.

Bernie Ecclestone SLAMS Felipe Mass over Crashgate lawsuit, says Lewis Hamilton could’ve sued FIA for 2021 Abu Dhabi GP

Bernie Ecclestone (image via IMAGO), Felipe Massa (image via IMAGO), Lewis Hamilton (image via IMAGO)

Felipe Massa is pursuing a legal battle to overturn the 2008 F1 championship results. The Brazilian driver believes that the Singapore GP must be removed from the championship after Bernie Ecclestone admitted that F1 was aware of the Crashgate scandal. Now, Ecclestone has slammed the former Ferrari driver over this battle.

The former F1 supremo was adamant that Felipe Massa’s motive was financial. The Brazilian driver looked to get compensation from F1 for not being crowned the 2008 world champion. Moreover, Ecclestone believed that Massa’s legal battle might not be of much avail as he reckons it would be tough for the former Ferrari driver to win this fight. Bernie Ecclestone told Blick, “The Massa clan is only concerned with money. But the chances for this are zero.”

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Ecclestone claimed Lewis Hamilton could’ve taken a similar approach with the controversial 2021 season finale in Abu Dhabi when Max Verstappen won the championship. As such, the former F1 boss believed that even Hamilton could’ve followed Massa, but the Briton decided to move on from that race. He said, “Action against the FIA could have been filed by Hamilton with Mercedes after the not very clean final in 2021 in Abu Dhabi.”

Also Read: Felipe Massa’s legal team claims they have sufficient evidence to overturn Lewis Hamilton’s 2008 F1 title win

Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton in 2008 (image via The Independent)
Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton in 2008 (image via The Independent)

Lewis Hamilton won the 2008 world title by just a single point from Felipe Massa. However, the Crashgate incident involving Renault’s Nelson Piquet Jr. changed the outcome of the Singapore GP. Massa pitted under the safety car after Piquet’s crash. Unfortunately, the Ferrari driver drove off the pits with an attached fuel hose that ruined his prospects in the race.

However, recently, Bernie Ecclestone admitted that he was aware of the Crashgate during 2008 itself. The F1 supremo decided not to take action during the season to avoid further sports controversies. Formula 1’s image was already tarnished by the Spygate scandal involving McLaren. As such, it remains to be seen if Massa can win this battle.

Thus, Bernie Ecclestone has called out Felipe Massa for the Brazilian’s battle with Formula 1. The F1 supremo reckoned that the former Ferrari driver only wanted to gain financially from this fight. Although, it remains to be seen if Massa can succeed in his attempt to overturn the 2008 F1 championship results. Fans would be looking forward to this battle in the coming weeks.

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