Ex-Ferrari and FIA chief Jean Todt has backed Felipe Massa in his efforts to overturn the results of the 2008 Drivers’ Championship, which the Brazilian misplaced to Lewis Hamilton.
In arguably certainly one of sports activities largest intestine punches, the 2008 F1 Drivers’ Championship went all the way down to the ultimate race of the marketing campaign, with Brazil taking part in host to the showcase finale. Starting on pole, Massa went on to win the race, a end result which he, his father and Ferrari, believed had received him the Drivers Championship.
But Hamilton, who a season prior missed out on the Drivers’ Championship by some extent to Kimi Raikkonen, managed to cross Timo Glock on his last lap, shifting as much as fifth place which was sufficient to safe him his first world title, a end result which got here as a hammer blow to Massa.
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However, Massa is now pursing authorized motion in opposition to the FIA due to what unfolded on the Singapore Grand Prix simply over a month previous to the Brazilian Grand Prix. During that race, a crash on lap 14 from Renault’s Nelson Piquet Jr led to a security automotive, forcing Massa, then in first place, and everybody else, collectively.
As a end result, Ferrari opted to convey Massa in for a pitstop – solely to botch it by releasing the Brazilian with the gas hose nonetheless in his automotive, which ended up costing him dearly as he dropped to final place, and completed outdoors of the factors.
Should Felipe Massa merely simply let it go at this level? Let us know within the feedback part beneath.
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Conveniently for Renault, one driver to profit massively from the protection automotive was Fernando Alonso, who was final previous to Piquet Jr’s crash. The Spaniard went on to win the race. And Piquet Jr alleged it was Renault who instructed him to intentionally crash – which is what has led to Massa’s authorized problem.
Ex-Ferrari basic supervisor Todt has sympathy for his former driver’s efforts and believes the race ought to have been cancelled. “I received’t get into the controversy, but it surely was very laborious for him psychologically,” Todt instructed Italian outlet La Stampa.
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“Maybe we could have been tougher when the story became known, but there is no doubt that the Singapore Grand Prix was rigged, and should have been cancelled.”