Felipe Massa Demands 2008 Formula 1 World Championship Review
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Seven-time world champion “Formula 1” Lewis Hamilton in the future can only become a six-time. Brazilian racer Felipe Massa has notified the International Automobile Federation (FIA) of his intention to go to court demanding that he be recognized as the 2008 world champion. That championship remained with Hamilton, who in the final classification bypassed Massa by only one point. The Brazilian is demanding that the results of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix be canceled because the outcome was influenced by the malicious actions of the management of the Renault team, which was officially recognized by the FIA. Minus the Singaporean results, it is Massa who will end up with more points.
Former Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa is determined to push for a revision of the 2008 World Championship results. According to its results, he (Massa then played for Ferrari) became the vice-champion, losing only one point to the winner of the championship, Lewis Hamilton, who drove for McLaren. The scandalous story that underlies Massa’s claims became public in 2009. Then it turned out that the outcome of one of the races of the 2008 championship was influenced by the malicious actions of the management of the Renault team. One of the drivers of the French “stable” – Nelson Piquet, Jr. – admitted (after being fired from Renault) that he deliberately crashed into a bump stop at the Singapore Grand Prix. The incident happened on the 16th lap. Piqué drove into the wall in such a place that it was impossible to avoid the appearance of a safety car on the track. Racers, taking advantage of the moment, rushed into the pits to change tires and refuel (then it was allowed). Among them was Massa, who was in the lead from the very start. The Brazilian, however, was unlucky: the mechanics gave him a signal to leave too early, without having time to remove the filling hose, he jerked, broke the hose, stopped at the end of the pit lane, waited for the Ferarri staff to run up to him and disconnect the hose. As a result, Massa even dropped out of the points zone and earned nothing in Singapore. But the first number of Renault Fernando Alonso, who started from 15th place, after hanging yellow flags, was the first and won the race. This is because, by a “fortunate” coincidence, he drove to his pit stop a couple of laps before the rigged accident.
Nelson Piquet Jr. said he was ordered to crash into the wall at a prearranged spot to give Alonso an advantage, Renault boss Flavio Briatore and team chief engineer Pat Symonds. The investigation conducted by the FIA confirmed the words of the rider, Briatore and Symonds were disqualified. Renault got off with a suspended sentence, but Alonso was unharmed. The loss of ten points in Singapore came back to haunt Massa at the last stage of the season – in Brazil. He won it and even managed to be a virtual world champion for half a minute. But Lewis Hamilton, almost at the last moment, managed to rise to the fourth place he required and became the champion.
Felipe Massa said that after the conspiracy was revealed, he appealed to the leadership of Ferrari with a request to protest the results of the championship. He also consulted with outside lawyers. But the FIA rules actually forbid revising the results of the competition after they are declared official, so Massa did not achieve anything. However, in the spring of this year, the former owner of Formula 1, 92-year-old Bernie Ecclestone, in an interview with F1 Insider admitted that both he and the president of the International Automobile Federation (FIA) Max Mosley knew what the Renault bosses had done even during the season. 2008, but decided not to do anything to avoid scandal. He also noted that he had put in a lot of effort to convince Nelson Pique Sr. (the three-time world champion had far more weight in the racing world than his son) not to make the incident public. “But if we adhered to the regulations, then the results of the Singapore race should have been cancelled. And then the champion would not be Hamilton, but Massa, ”said Bernie Ecclestone.
Ecclestone’s statement gave Felipe Massa grounds to insist that the FIA leadership deliberately violated its own rules. This means that it cannot refer to the regulations stating that the opportunity to protest the results of the competition expires fourteen days after its completion, and the final results begin to be considered unshakable four days before the champions’ awards ceremony (an annual event held at the conclusion of championships under the auspices of the FIA).
After the scandalous interview with Bernie Ecclestone, Felipe Massa said that he would consult with lawyers about starting a dispute with the FIA in court. According to Motorsport.com, Massa’s lawyers filed a complaint against FIA President Mohammed bin Sulayem and Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali about disagreeing with the results of the 2008 World Championship, noting that the FIA’s actions cost their client not only title, but also millions of euros not received as prizes and bonuses. To argue with the fact that Massa lost a lot by losing the title is stupid. “Formula 1” in Brazil is insanely popular, and if Massa became the first Brazilian world champion since Ayrton Senna, he would be a much better off person than he is now.
Lawyers do not estimate the exact amount of damage in the letter, but note that claims for millions do not take into account moral and reputational damage. The letter informs that its addressees have two weeks to respond, after which, if it does not satisfy the applicant, a lawsuit will be filed in a civil court. It should be noted that according to the FIA regulations, almost all disputes must actually be resolved within the federation itself, in its own arbitration court. The jurisdiction of the Court of Arbitration for Sport includes only cases of doping by racers. This, however, does not mean that there is no chance to transfer the case to a civil court, for example, in France – the FIA headquarters is located in Paris.
We add that the intention of Felipe Massa to give the case an official move, it is possible that the FIA knew in advance. After all, Bernie Ecclestone, answering a question about his scandalous interview, told Reuters that he did not remember giving it at all.
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