Former Scuderia Ferrari driver Felipe Massa has made new statements about the legal battle surrounding the 2008 World Championship, also discussing the possibility of sharing the title with Lewis Hamilton.
The Brazilian driver has initiated a legal process to evaluate the possibility of overturning the result of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, won by Fernando Alonso in a Renault, after his teammate Nelson Piquet Jr. deliberately caused a Safety Car situation.
The FOM and the FIA are working to provide legal responses to the matter. Mohammed Ben Sulayem, the President of the FIA, stated that he had discussed the matter with Massa.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s comments
Speaking to Reuters, Mohammed Ben Sulayem said, “I [told Massa], ‘It depends on you, do what you think is right for you, but the FIA will have to protect itself.”
“We have our sporting rules and our statutes, which say that after a certain period, nothing can be done… but people can contest it. It’s not the Bible,” he concluded.
Felipe Massa’s Response
Massa denied this version of events, insisting that he never spoke with Ben Sulayem about the matter and received no response when he sent a message to discuss it.
When asked about the FIA President’s statements, the former Brazilian driver responded: “I was a little surprised because I never had that conversation with him. We never talked about the case.”
“I sent him a message explaining the situation and made myself available to discuss it, but he never responded. I hope and believe that the FIA should defend the sport. But it’s not about defending itself; it’s about defending what is right and fair for the sport in general. I think that’s the main point,” Felipe Massa continued.
When asked about Mohammed Ben Sulayem‘s observation that the FIA’s regulations are not “the Bible,” Felipe Massa responded: “Actually, my lawyers know it; I have nothing else to add.”
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The former Ferrari driver expressed his hope that the current leadership of the FIA and FOM is open to correcting the mistakes that, in his view, were made by their organizations in the past, rather than trying to defend what has happened: “We understand that they are the same companies, but they are different people from back then.”
“I hope that today’s officials, both at the FIA and FOM, realize that this kind of situation is unacceptable and that they cannot turn their backs on a case like this. I really hope they clarify it,” he added.
Sharing the Title with Hamilton
Felipe Massa and his legal team have been clear in their desire to change the outcome of the 2008 World Championship title. A scenario that would take the crown from Hamilton seems unlikely. However, the possibility of sharing the title with the Englishman has been suggested. Felipe Massa stated that all he wants is justice, specifically the nullification of the Singapore race: “I believe that the most important thing is that justice is done the right way. The right thing that they are working on [with the lawyers] is to cancel the [Singapore] race.” – he pointed out.
“I understand that 15 years have passed, but justice must be served, and that’s why we will fight for it. Then we could consider this possibility [of sharing the title with Hamilton], especially because [sharing a trophy] has happened in other sports, something to analyze. But we aim for justice and the trophy; that’s the main point,” he specified.
The Brazilian confirmed that he has had no contact with Hamilton regarding the situation: “I never talked to Hamilton [about this], and in fact, I see that people are very afraid to comment on the case.”
The comparison with Abu Dhabi 2021
The possibility of seeing a new 2008 world champion has raised the suggestion, for Mercedes, of contesting the FIA’s actions at the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (where Hamilton lost the title due to an incorrect interpretation of the regulations by the then race director, Michael Masi).
However, Massa does not see such a strong comparison between the two cases: “One thing is manipulation of the sport, and another is a mistake, right? [In the case of Abu Dhabi 2021] It’s like a [soccer] referee doing something stupid. They are two completely different things, my case in 2008 and that of 2021,” he concluded.
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