Former Scuderia Ferrari driver Felipe Massa expressed his astonishment at the recent comments made by FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem regarding his potential legal challenge concerning the 2008 Formula 1 championship outcome. The Brazilian driver has initiated a legal process aimed at reevaluating the results of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, where Fernando Alonso emerged victorious following the deliberate crash orchestrated by Massa’s Renault teammate, Nelson Piquet Jr.
On that fateful day, Felipe Massa faced a setback during a refuelling stop, causing him to lose crucial ground in the championship battle against his primary rival, Lewis Hamilton. Should the event be invalidated, Massa would be crowned as the champion. As both FOM and the FIA are in the process of preparing legal responses, Ben Sulayem recently stated that he had engaged in discussions with the Brazilian driver, conveying the governing body’s commitment to defending its position.
In an interview with Reuters, Mohammed Ben Sulayem remarked:
“I answered him saying ‘It’s up to you, you do what you think is right for you, but the FIA will have to protect themselves. We have our rules, we have our sporting rules, and our statutes, which say a certain period after that you can’t [do anything]… but people can challenge that. It’s not the book of God.” the Emirati former rally driver and current president of the FIA explained.
However, the former Ferrari driver has cast doubt on this narrative, asserting that he has never engaged in any conversation with Mohammed Ben Sulayem regarding the issue. He further explained that he received no reply when he reached out to express his willingness to discuss the matter. When inquired about his perspective on Mohammed Ben Sulayem’s statements, Felipe Massa shared with Autosport:
“I was a little surprised, because we didn’t have this conversation with him. We never talked about the case. In the end, I didn’t have a conversation with him. I sent a message explaining the case and saying that I was available for us to talk, but he never responded to me. We never had that conversation. I hope and believe that the FIA has to defend the sport. But it’s not [about] defending itself, but defending what is fair and what is right for sport in general. I think that’s the main point.” – the Brazilian added.
Further asked about the FIA president’s observation regarding the FIA statutes not being the ‘book of God’, the Brazilian continued: “In fact, our lawyers know this, that’s all I have to say.”
Felipe Massa was optimistic that the recent changes in leadership within both the FIA and FOM would lead to a willingness to acknowledge past mistakes made by these organizations, rather than persistently defending the events that transpired: “We understand that they are the same companies, but they are different people compared to those of the time. I hope the people today show that things are different, so I hope that the people who are in charge today, both in the FIA and FOM, see that this type of situation is unacceptable and that they can’t turn their backs on a case like this. I really hope they clean it up.” – the Brazilian pointed out.
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Felipe Massa and his legal advisors are unequivocal in their pursuit to have the 2008 world championship title reversed. While the prospect of this outcome, which would strip Lewis Hamilton of his inaugural title, appears unfortunately improbable, there have been proposals that a compromise could entail a shared championship. Felipe Massa clarified that he is not contemplating any ultimate resolution beyond achieving what he perceives as justice for the manipulation that occurred during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
“I think the most important thing is for us to have justice done in the right way,” he said. “The correct thing, the work [of my lawyers], is cancel the race [Singapore]. I understand that we are 15 years after it, but justice has to be done the right way and that is what we will fight for. If justice is done and we think that this is really the right thing to do [sharing the title with Hamilton], especially because [sharing of championships] happened in other sports, it is something to be analysed. But we are going after justice and after the trophy, that’s the main point.” – he concluded.
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