Felipe Massa is continuing to explore legal options available to him over his lost 2008 Formula 1 World Championship. The Brazilian, along with his team of lawyers, have been working to come to some sort of redress after comments made by former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone over the controversial Singapore Grand Prix from that season and what is known as 'Crashgate.' Then-Ferrari driver Massa lost out on the 2008 title to Lewis Hamilton by a single point - and has accepted that fact. However, after the Ecclestone comments earlier this year, Massa's lawyers sent a Letter Before Claim to both Formula 1 and the FIA - in which he is described as "the rightful 2008 champion".
What did Ecclestone say?
In an interview with F1 Insider earlier this year, Ecclestone claimed that he and then FIA President Max Mosley knew Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr had crashed deliberately in the race in Singapore during the 2008 season. After the crash, Renault teammate Fernando Alonso would go on to win after Massa suffered a pit stop error during the ensuing Safety Car - his fuel hose still attached as he left his pit box. Ecclestone suggested that according to the FIA statues, the race should have been cancelled and scrubbed from the record books. If this happened, Hamilton would have had his six points for third place in the race chalked off. Massa would then have claimed the 2008 title by five points, making him the fourth Brazilian to win the title after Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna. However, Ecclestone has since said he cannot remember giving the interview that sparked the latest legal proceedings from the Massa camp.
What is Massa seeking?
In the Letter Before Claim, Massa's lawyers suggested that he had been robbed of the title - which subsequently cost him millions of euros in lost bonuses, earnings as well as reputational damage. The letter describes Massa as "the rightful 2008 Drivers' Champion and F1 and the FIA deliberately ignored the misconduct that cheated him out of the title". It is believed that this letter was addressed to F1 President and CEO Stefano Domenicali and FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem. Massa's lawyers also indicated that legal action would be pursued on his behalf to seek compensation should a timely and satisfactory response be issued. Recent reports now suggest that Massa's team is prepared to go to the UK High Court after growing frustrated at a lack of activity over the F1 summer break.
Will the 2008 championship be overturned?
According to Ecclestone, the 2008 championship was officially closed when Hamilton was presented with the Drivers' Championship Trophy at the prize giving ceremony. It is extremely unlikely that title will be stripped from Hamilton and awarded to Massa. One reason for this is that it could trigger similar claims from other drivers who have lost titles in controversial circumstances, including Hamilton himself in the 2021 season after the late Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Safety Car restart. In the report that followed the investigation into what happened at Yas Marina, the FIA concluded 'The results of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix and the FIA Formula One World Championship are valid, final and cannot now be changed'.
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