F1 News: Felipe Massa's Lawyers Believe Lewis Hamilton Will Back Ongoing Legal Battle
Felipe Massa's lawsuit against the F1 authorities for the 2008 Crashgate scandal has taken a step further with his lawyers seeking support from Lewis Hamilton to make their case stronger. The Brazilian driver aims to seek compensation from Formula 1 for a deliberate incident that caused him to lose the 2008 Championship.
During the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, Massa and Hamilton were engaged in a tight points battle. Nelson Piquet Junior crashed his F1 car into the circuit wall to wrongly favour his teammate, Fernando Alonso. The action pushed Massa to head back to the track in a hurry and in the process, the fuel hose remained attached to his car.
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The scene caused him to attract a penalty, which then led Hamilton to win the championship by just 1 point. If it wasn't for the crash, Massa would've won the championship. In 2009, Piquet confessed to the deliberate crash, revealing that he was asked by his Renault team bosses to do so.
The former F1 driver went after the F1 authorities in a legal battle after former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone told a German website in March that he and former FIA president Max Mosley, were aware of Piquet's deliberate crash in 2008. Sadly, Mosley passed away in 2021.
Massa's Brazilian lawyer Bernardo Viana told Reuters that they had offered Formula 1 and the FIA time until mid-October to respond to a letter they had sent before the claim. Viana, who is a partner at the law firm Vieira Rezende Advogados said:
"The ball is on their court, we've been waiting for their response. They asked for more time, until mid-October, and in good faith we have agreed to that."
However, to make their case stronger, the lawyers want Hamilton, who was then racing for McLaren, to support their claims. Viana said:
"He is an important ambassador for the sport and has always defended sporting integrity. He is an honorary Brazilian citizen and very well liked by Brazilians, so I hope he will support us.
"We have absolutely nothing against Hamilton."
Through the case, Massa intends to safeguard Formula One's integrity, in addition to seeking compensation for the lost income he would've earned after winning the championship
