15 years after the infamous Crashgate incident, Felipe Massa turned towards legal proceedings as a resort to seeking justice for being ‘robbed’ of a driver’s title in 2008. The driver has reportedly asked for $13,000,000 in compensation for the reputational damages he suffered. Talking about the same, veteran F1 Journalist Joe Saward finds the retired driver’s actions leading towards him destroying his own legacy in the sport.
Having lost the title after coming agonizingly close to winning it in 2008, emotions overcame Massa following the culmination of the campaign. He proudly beat his chest over how he had driven on the day. The crowd cheered for him while members of other teams clapped and formed a guard of honor after what they saw from the Brazilian that day.
15 years later, Saward claims the Brazilian is ruining not only his reputation but also one of the most glorious days an F1 driver has ever seen.
Felipe Massa out to ruin a glorious day claims F1 journalist
Writing for his blog, Joe Saward addressed one of the most heated ongoing topics in the F1 industry. Saward says he finds the 42-year-old’s actions “rather sad.” He further adds the action comes off as an act of desperation by the Brazilian.
“I find the recent antics of Felipe Massa rather sad. I feel that Felipe’s legal action against F1 and the FIA smacks of desperation, and he shouldn’t be desperate. His defeat in Brazil in 2008 was a crowning piece of sportsmanship. He was the hero of the day, even if Lewis Hamilton was the World Champion. To ruin that legacy is silly and sad, no matter what the lawyers say.”
With Massa adamant on taking legal actions that might lead to Hamilton being a six-time world champion, questions about the Brazilian holding hard feelings against the Briton have taken wind.
Massa does not have bad blood against Hamilton
As mentioned earlier, questions about whether Massa holds a grudge against Hamilton have become a norm of late. Addressing the issue, the Brazilian asserts he has no hard feelings towards the Mercedes driver. He claims his fight lies with the authorities who knew about the incident and still did nothing to prevent it.
The 42-year-old former driver claims he is fighting for the sport’s betterment. He believes it is important for him and his team to fight to get justice not only for themselves but also for Formula 1 as a whole. Even though he’ll continue to fight until he gets the title, Felipe Massa says he’s here to make things right.
