Lewis Hamilton's 2008 Champion In Dispute As Former F1 Driver Considers Legal Action

Former F1 driver Felipe Massa is looking into legal action over the 2008 championship.

Former F1 driver Felipe Massa is reportedly considering legal action to challenge the outcome of the 2008 Formula 1 world championship, which he lost to Lewis Hamilton. 

Massa's decision comes after former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone made comments about the critical 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, where Nelson Piquet Jr. caused a crash that brought out a safety car and ultimately helped his Renault teammate Fernando Alonso win the race. 

The controversy had a huge influence on the title battle, with Massa's Ferrari crew messing up one of his pitstops that dropped him down the order and allowed Hamilton to grab third. 

The seven-time champion ended up winning the championship by a single point. Despite the incident, the FIA refused to cancel the Singapore GP's result, as the classification from each season is set in stone under the International Sporting Code once the FIA Awards ceremony is complete. 

Massa, however, thinks that there are grounds to review things once again in the wake of recent comments from Ecclestone confessing that he and the FIA were aware of the rules breach before the end of the 2008 season.

What Did Bernie Ecclestone Say About Lewis Hamilton's 2008 F1 Championship Win?

Ecclestone revealed during an interview with F1-Insider, that he and the FIA president at the time, Max Mosley, were aware of the plan of the crash ahead of time and could have done something to stop it. 

He added: 

“We decided not to do anything for now. We wanted to protect the sport and save it from a huge scandal. That's why I used angelic tongues to persuade my former driver Nelson Piquet to keep calm for the time being.

“Back then, there was a rule that a world championship classification after the FIA ​​awards ceremony at the end of the year was untouchable. So Hamilton was presented with the trophy and everything was fine.

“We had enough information in time to investigate the matter. According to the statutes, we should have cancelled the race in Singapore under these conditions.

“That means it would never have happened for the championship standings. And then Felipe Massa would have become world champion and not Lewis Hamilton.”

Felipe Massa's Response

According to Autosport, Massa is now looking into taking legal action over the recent confessions. He said:

“There is a rule that says that when a championship is decided, from the moment the driver receives the champion's trophy, things can no longer be changed, even if it has been proven a theft.

“At the time, Ferrari's lawyers told me about this rule. We went to other lawyers and the answer was that nothing could be done. So I logically believed in this situation.

“But after 15 years, we hear that the [former] owner of the category says that he found out in 2008, together with the president of the FIA, and they did nothing [so as] to not tarnish the name of F1.

“This is very sad, to know the result of this race was supposed to be cancelled and I would have a title. In the end, I was the one who lost the most with this result. So, we are going after it to understand all this.”

He continued:

“There are rules, and there are many things that, depending on the country, you cannot go back after 15 years to resolve a situation.

“But I intend to study the situation; study what the laws say, and the rules. We have to have an idea of what it is possible to do.”

Massa has been transparent that he does not want financial compensation, but "justice". He added:

“I would never go after it thinking financially. I would go after it thinking about justice.

“I think if you've been punished for something that wasn't your fault, and it's the product of a robbery, a stolen race, justice has to be served.

“In fact, the right situation is to cancel the result of that race. It is the only justice that can be done in a case like this.

“We have already seen other situations happening in sports, such as Lance Armstrong (cyclist), who was proven to have doped, and he lost all the titles. What is the difference?”