Take the title from Hamilton? Brazilian Massa returns to the 2008 crashgate scandal! The former F1 boss has provided new information

Former Brazilian Formula One driver Felipe Massa is considering legal options in relation to the 2008 championship fight. That was won by Lewis Hamilton, and it was the Briton’s first title overall, still in McLaren colours. Massa blames his loss on the crashgate scandal.

The Motorsport server came out on Tuesday, April 4, with the information that former Brazilian F1 driver Felipe Massa is currently weighing his legal options in light of the 2008 title battle he lost to Lewis Hamilton.

This after new information regarding the “crashgate” scandal from the 2008 season, specifically the Singapore Grand Prix, came to light. He blames this moment for his failure to win the world championship that year.

The former Brazilian driver finished the 2008 season in second place, losing the season finale (the Brazilian Grand Prix) in dramatic circumstances to the now seven-time champion Hamilton.

A year later, it was revealed that the 2008 Singapore VC was rigged by the Renault team.

On lap 14 of the race, Nelson Piquét Jr, Fernando Alonso’s former teammate, sent his car into the wall. “I just made a mistake,” claimed the Renault driver after the race. He crashed at Turn 17, so much so that a Safety Car had to be sent out onto the track, resulting in a victory for Spain’s Alonso.

Massa pitted from the front of the race during the Safety Car, only for the pit-stop to turn into a nightmare. The mechanics got a fuel hose stuck in his Ferrari (refuelling was allowed during pit-stops at the time – ed.), and this delayed his pit-stop so much that he ended up at the tail of the grid after exiting the pits.

His rival Hamilton then finished on the podium. Of course, after the scandal came to light in 2009, Massa demanded the results be annulled. However, this was not possible under the FIA statutes.

Ecclestone:: We wanted to protect F1

In an interview with F1-Insider, former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone admitted that she and then FIA president Max Mosley were informed during the 2008 season about what actually happened in Singapore.

But they reportedly decided not to take any action to protect the sport and F1 from a huge scandal.

“The rule at the time was that the World Championship classification after the FIA awards ceremony at the end of the year was sacrosanct. So Hamilton was handed the championship trophy and everything was fine,” Ecclestone said in that interview.

“I still feel sorry for Massa today. He won the final at his home race in Sao Paulo and he did everything right. He was robbed of a well-deserved title, while Hamilton had all the luck in the world and won his first title. I would have done things differently today,” the former F1 boss added candidly.

Will Massa get justice?

It is quite understandable that after the world saw new information thanks to the former F1 boss’ statement, Massa is considering his legal options.

“There’s a rule that says that once the championship is decided, from the moment a driver receives the championship trophy, things can’t be changed, even if it’s proven to be stolen,” Massa explained in an interview with Motorsport.

“But after 15 years, we have learned that the former F1 boss said he figured it out in 2008 together with the FIA president and they did nothing to tarnish the F1 name,” the Brazilian continues.

“It’s very sad to know that the result of this race should have been cancelled and I would have had the title. In the end it was me who lost the most with this result. So we’re going after it to understand it all,” he concluded.

F1, Motorsport, F1-Insider