Felipe Massa exploring legal options as he seeks to overturn Lewis Hamilton’s 2008 F1 title win

Felipe Massa is considering options over potentially challenging the result of the 2008 F1 title, won by Lewis Hamilton - due to the Crashgate controversy.

Felipe Massa exploring legal options as he seeks to overturn Lewis Hamilton’s 2008 F1 title win

Lewis Hamilton (L) | Felipe Massa (R)

In 2008, the title battle went down to the final race, the Brazilian Grand Prix. It went down to the last lap, even. There, hometown hero Felipe Massa lost out to Lewis Hamilton by a single point. When Massa crossed the line, it seemed the fate of the championship was sealed. But then, the unthinkable happened. The Briton overtook Timo Glock (who was struggling on dry tires on a wet surface) in the last few corners to secure fifth, which was enough to win the title.

But if not for a now infamous Singapore Grand Prix, it’s possible that the title would have gone to Massa instead, and comfortably. There, Nelson Piquet Jr. crashed deliberately on lap 14. This gave his teammate, Fernando Alonso (who won the race), a great advantage as he had pitted on lap 12 before the pits were closed temporarily to allow the field to bunch up. When all cars were behind the safety car, Massa, who had led the race to this point, also pitted. But then disaster struck.

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Ferrari botched his pit stop and released him with the fuel hose still attached. He stopped just before the exit, and he had to wait until mechanics removed the fuel hose from his car before rejoining. This dropped him way down the order, and he finished P13. On the other hand, his title rival, Hamilton, finished P3. So it can be argued that the crash, combined with Ferrari’s blunder, could have determined the outcome of the 2008 F1 title.

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There was not immediate action against Piquet Jr. and Renault, but after details emerged in the following year, they were given a two-year suspended ban from the sport. So, considering the deliberate crash heavily influenced the outcome of the race, at the time, Massa asked the FIA to cancel the results of the Singapore GP. But this wasn’t possible because the result was set in stone following the FIA Awards Ceremony. But action could have been taken earlier.

In an interview with F1-Insider, Bernie Ecclestone disclosed that he and then FIA President, Max Mosley, knew about the “situation” before the end of the season. However, they decided not to do anything in order to protect F1’s reputation. So, Hamilton was given the trophy, which was then set in stone. He thought they had enough time and information to investigate the matter, and under the ‘statutes’ the race result would have been cancelled. Which would have likely meant Massa winning the title.

Read More: Crashgate SCANDAL: When Nelson Piquet Jr. ‘intentionally’ crashed to give an unfair advantage to Fernando Alonso

Felipe Massa wants “justice”

Felipe Massa (L) | Lewis Hamilton (R)
Felipe Massa (L) | Lewis Hamilton (R)

So, following Bernie Ecclestone’s Felipe Massa wants to evaluate whether he has enough to take the matter further [and challenge the outcome of the 2008 F1 title], in legal territory. Referencing the rule that meant he could not contest the championship’s result due to the Awards ceremony rule, upon consultation with lawyers back then, he believed nothing could be done. However, new information has come to light now.

And so, speaking to Motorsport.com, the former Ferrari man said: “But after 15 years, we hear that the [former] owner of the category says that he found out in 2008, together with the president of the FIA, and they did nothing [so as] to not tarnish the name of F1. This is very sad, to know the result of this race was supposed to be cancelled and I would have a title. In the end, I was the one who lost the most with this result. So, we are going after it to understand all this.” 

While Massa admits his chances are slim, he intends to “study the situation” and get an idea of the possibilities. He further added: “I would never go after it thinking financially. I would go after it thinking about justice. I think if you’ve been punished for something that wasn’t your fault, and it’s the product of a robbery, a stolen race, justice has to be served. In fact, the right situation is to cancel the result of that race. It is the only justice that can be done in a case like this.” 

Massa gave the example of Lance Armstrong, who won Tour de France seven consecutive times, but was stripped of his titles after it came out that he used performance enhancing drugs. So, it’s not an irreversible situation, at least on paper. It’ll be interesting to see how this develops, but the chances of him getting the title back from Lewis Hamilton are slim, to say the least.

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