Lewis Hamilton won the 2008 title by a small margin, which would have gone Felipe Massa‘s way had the results following Crashgate’s revelation been nulled. Massa is currently battling with the FIA to get the title back, but his chances look slim. Meanwhile, former Ferrari manager and F1 journalist Peter Windsor feels that Hamilton would be willing to lose the title to Massa. However, there is a small catch.
Hamilton lost out on the 2021 title in heartbreaking fashion. Had then-race director Michael Masi’s questionable decision-making not impacted the final lap of the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP, Hamilton would have been an eight-time world champion. Windsor feels that Hamilton should get that championship back, even though it went to Max Verstappen.
“Deep down, if you were to ask Lewis Hamilton to lose his 2008 title to give it to Felipe Massa, and reclaim the 2021 championship, I think he would be willing to do it,” he said as reported by MSN.
Windsor thinks that the final lap of the 2021 season finale should be voided. In that case, Hamilton, who was in the lead up until then, would emerge as the race winner and world champion. Consequently, losing one title won’t affect his overall tally currently (7). Felipe Massa, however, thinks that he has a stronger claim to the 2008 title than Hamilton does for 2021.
Felipe Massa downplays Lewis Hamilton’s Abu Dhabi heartbreak
Massa was a victim of the Crashgate scandal in 2008, and there was proof that the FIA knew about the wrongdoings. Hamilton’s 2021 loss on the other hand was down to human error as far as the FIA was concerned. Hence, Massa thinks Hamilton’s situation is different than his.
Massa, in an episode of the Track Limits podcast, insisted that Hamilton needs to prove that his loss was an injustice. “For sure they need to prove it was a mistake,” he said. “And if it was a mistake, for sure they have the complete possibility to fight.”
Massa stated that in case Mercedes or Hamilton could prove that external factors influenced Masi’s decision-making, he could make a claim for the title. Since that is not the case, the stronger claim rests with himself, according to him.
