During the press conference before the 2023 Brazilian Grand Prix, the drivers including Lewis Hamilton were asked a difficult question. One of the reporters asked about Felipe Massa’s bid for the 2008 Championship. The response was nothing but silence.
Earlier this year, Felipe Massa initiated a lawsuit against the FIA and FOM for the 2008 Championship. During that season, Massa lost the Championship by 1 point to Lewis Hamilton. However, there was a controversial incident that occurred during the Singapore Grand Prix.
During the Singapore Grand Prix, Nelson Piquet Jr. ran his Renault into the wall causing a safety car. This safety car helped his teammate, Fernando Alonso win the race. Renault was punished for doing so. In 2023, Bernie Eccleston admitted to knowing about the Singapore incident before it even occurred. He did not do anything to prevent it as it would compromise the sport.
“Drivers were asked about Felipe Massa’s bid for the 2008 F1 title here at the press conference. After a deafening silence, Sainz was the only one to respond that he has no opinion on it. Hamilton declined to answer, saying he was distracted at the moment.”
Lewis: https://t.co/aCCtzqfeVM pic.twitter.com/jhlQwPDDJu
— Sir Lewis Updates (@LH44updates) November 2, 2023
Shortly after this interview, Felipe Massa said that he would file a lawsuit. Massa is looking to get the FIA and FOM to disregard the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix results from the Championship. This would mean that Massa would win the Championship. Since it takes away a trophy from Lewis Hamilton, it is obviously a sensitive topic for him and the paddock. The only driver to answer this question was Carlos Sainz who had no opinion on the matter.
Felipe Massa has sought support from a number of people involved including Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari. Despite racing for Ferrari at the time, the team has not supported Felipe Massa so far. As it stands, Ferrari is already the winner of the WCC of the 2008 season. So it does not really matter to Ferrari if Massa wins or loses the 2008 Championship.
Felipe Massa open to sharing 2008 title with Lewis Hamilton
While Lewis Hamilton is not commenting on Felipe Massa’s lawsuit, Massa has said that he is open to sharing the trophy with Lewis Hamilton. But will this prompt Lewis to support Felipe Massa?
“If justice is done and we think this is the right thing to do,” Felipe Massa said. “Especially because [sharing a title] has happened in other sports – it’s something to be analyzed. But let’s go after justice and the trophy. That’s the main point.”
If the Championship is shared, Lewis Hamilton will retain the 7 Championships that he already has. However, the success of this lawsuit will set a precedent that he and Mercedes could take advantage of.
🚨 | Felipe Massa says sharing the 2008 title with Lewis Hamilton is “something to be analysed.”
Massa believes his legal action against F1 and the FIA is important for “justice.”
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— formularacers (@formularacers_) November 1, 2023
Back in 2021, Lewis Hamilton lost the 2021 Championship to Max Verstappen. Max Verstappen was only able to overtake Hamilton as the FIA race director did not follow the proper procedures during the safety car period. If the proper procedures were followed, the race would have ended behind the safety car and Lewis Hamilton would have won the Championship.
After the incident, the FIA race director, Michael Masi stepped down from his position. So if Felipe Massa wins this lawsuit, it would set a precedent for Lewis Hamilton to get his 8th Championship from the 2021 season.