Felipe Massa has gone above and beyond in his efforts to make the 2008 F1 championship his, engaging in a legal battle with F1 and the FIA. Lewis Hamilton, who won the title that year, hasn’t reacted much and the majority of his F1 community feels that the Brazilian driver is in a pointless pursuit. Now, Rob Smedley, one of his best friends shares his view on the matter.
Smedley, who worked as an engineer in F1, recently appeared on the Formula for Success podcast. Former driver, David Coulthard asked him for his take on Massa’s fight against what he believes is injustice to which Smedley said,
“The racing Gods have decided on something else. If he [Massa] wants to pursue this whole thing, then everybody should be free to do what they wanna do.”
Smedley doesn’t comment on whether he thinks Massa is right or not. But, he does insist that he is fighting for what he believes in, which he respects. At the same time, Smedley, who was in Massa’s garage in 2008, has come to peace with how the season ended with Hamilton on top.
Admitting that it would have been nice to win the Championship back then, Smedley says,
“The guy with the most points at the end of the season is the guy who deserves to win it.”
The 50-year-old adds that sometimes drivers get points taken away and added, with a measure of bad and good luck respectively. Massa, however, doesn’t share this neutral opinion and continues to fight for the championship.
Felipe Massa continues his fight for Lewis Hamilton’s title
Massa wants the 2008 title to be awarded to him for one main reason. He believes that the FIA and F1 knew about the Crashgate incident in Singapore and that they should have nulled the race and its results. Had they done so, Massa would be champion.
The FIA maintains its stance that the championship results cannot change after the Prize Giving Ceremony’s culmination. And the title Massa is fighting for, already went to Hamilton 16 years ago.
Regardless, he continues talking to his legal team, looking for a way out. Most recently, reports have stated that he is looking for financial compensation of up to $80 million. It is the sum of money he thinks he lost out on, because of his failure to finish the season in P1.
However, per most sources, Massa’s efforts will likely go in vain.
