The highly controversial Felipe Massa saga saw a major twist when former F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone backtracked on comments previously made by him. It was these alleged comments that had sparked Massa’s legal battle against F1 and the FIA; the Brazilian racer claiming nearly $13,000,000 in compensation. Lewis Hamilton, being a major stakeholder in this controversy, was quite naturally asked about his opinion regarding the whole issue, to which he replied, as quoted by Racer, on the same tracks as that of Ecclestone.
The controversy revolves around the Crashgate scandal of 2008, which led to Massa losing out on the race and, consequentially, the championship to Hamilton by just one point. In 2009, it came to light that Piquet Jr’s crash in Singapore was pre-planned- making it one of the major scandals in recent sports history.
Felipe Massa walks past Nelson Piquet Jr (who was part of the 2008 Crashgate scandal) as Massa is reportedly taking legal action into the outcome of the title that year 👀#F1 #MiamiGP 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/LdSU2bfGtK
— Motorsport Week (@MotorsportWeek) May 7, 2023
The issue came back into popular consciousness this year when Bernie Ecclestone made a shocking revelation to F1 Insider. The former CEO claimed to have had enough information regarding the scandal to cancel the result of the Singapore GP. This led to the already aggrieved Massa starting his legal quest against F1.
Lewis Hamilton does not remember much about 2008
Ecclestone recently made a huge U-turn and told Reuters that he does not remember saying anything like this ever. This has turned out to be a major talking point, and ahead of the Dutch GP, Hamilton also said something similar, claiming that he doesn’t remember much from the 2008 season.
As reported by Racer, when asked about Massa’s legal challenge, Hamilton said, “I have a really bad memory, so I don’t really remember a lot, to be honest. I’m really just focused on the here and now and helping the team get back into the championship and the race. I’m not really focused on what happened 15 years ago.”
Lewis Hamilton on Felipe Massa appeal for the 2008 championship
“I’m only focused on the present moment and helping the team get back in the hunt for the championship. I’m not really focused on what happened 15 years ago.” pic.twitter.com/MDevr2psYU
— MenaGrandPrixEN (@MenaGrandPrixEn) August 24, 2023
In reality, there is not much to gain for Massa as of now. He can’t appeal against the championship title and win it back from Lewis Hamilton. The least that he can fight for legally is financial compensation.
Things are looking bleak for Massa
Sky Sports F1 reported Craig Slater recently explained that as per the rules of the FIA, once a trophy is presented during the FIA’s prize-giving ceremony, there is no way for it to be taken back. All the drivers and the teams have already agreed to this and signed the statutes which state this.
Therefore, even when the scandal came to light in 2009, there was not much that could have been done regarding the World Championship title. The only option left for Massa is to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. But even that wouldn’t provide him with any positive outcomes since the FIA simply does not recognize CAS decisions if they are about anything other than doping.
