Massa's lawyers 'hoping for SUPPORT' from Hamilton in world championship bid

Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton at the 2008 Belgian Grand Prix — Photo: © LAT Images

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Massa's lawyers 'hoping for SUPPORT' from Hamilton in world championship bid

The Brazilian is in a legal battle with the FIA due to comments made about the 'crashgate' controversy

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Wednesday 13 September 2023 07:57

Felipe Massa's lawyer has called for Lewis Hamilton to provide his support to the Brazilian's legal battle, despite it meaning one of the Brit's championships may be taken away from him.

The former Formula 1 driver has started legal proceedings against the FIA and FOM, after comments made by former F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone that he and then FIA president Max Mosley knew about 'crashgate' long before any investigation was launched and covered it up in order to protect the sport from a scandal.

'Crashgate' is one of most controversial issues in the sport's history, when Nelson Piquet Jr was ordered by his Renault team to purposely crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix in order to help team-mate Fernando Alonso win the race.

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The events only came to light almost a year later, when Piquet was dropped from the Renault team after the 2009 Hungarian GP, and decided to come forward about what his team had asked him to do.

This led to suspensions and fines for many Renault team members but, crucially, the result of the race stood as it had been so long since the events had occurred.

Ecclestone's comments, however, brought back up the issue, because Massa believes had the incident been investigated sooner, the result of the race would have been nullified.

This would, of course, have been crucial given the fact that Hamilton finished third at the Singapore GP, and Massa finished 12th due to a pit-stop issue during the safety car period after Piquet's crash, and Hamilton went on to win the 2008 championship (his first of seven) by just one point.

In this case, Massa believes that he should be a world champion, and now lawyer Bernardo Viana has called upon Hamilton to support the case.

"We have nothing against him, on the contrary he is an important ambassador of sport throughout the world and has always defended sporting integrity," he told Reuters news agency.

"He is also well-liked in Brazil as an honorary citizen, so I hope he will make us feel his support."

Hamilton only a six-time world champion?

Hamilton won the 2008 world championship, the first of his illustrious career

It's an extraordinary call for help from Viana, not least because Hamilton would be helping strip his own world title from his illustrious record.

He currently holds a joint-record seven world championships, and his hoping to one day claim his eighth and overtake Michael Schumacher to become the undisputed most successful F1 driver of all time.

Although neither Hamilton or Massa can be blamed for what happened on that day, Massa has plenty to be aggrieved over following the controversial event.

Alonso's victory in the first ever F1 night race came at the expense of the Brazilian, who had been leading fairly comfortably until Piquet's crash.

While Alonso had pitted for fresh tyres just before the crash, most other drivers (including Massa) decided to pit once the safety car came out, promoting Alonso up the order, and he was able to come home to win the race.

Massa, on the other hand, had a slow stop amongst the chaos and ended up finishing 12th. It just so happened that it also worked out well for Hamilton, who was able to claim third behind Nico Rosberg in the Williams.

Had this incident not happened at all, and Massa gone on to win he would be a world champion and Hamilton would only be a six-time world champion. Had Ecclestone and Mosley acted upon the information they received at the time, the same could also be true.

On the interview that he gave, now 92-year-old Ecclestone has said that he "doesn't recall" making the incriminating comments.

While legal processes are in motion, the FIA and FOM have so far declined to comment on the Massa case.