The dispute of Felipe Massa To obtain recognition for the Formula 1 title in 2008, he took a new step last Thursday (20/11), in London, England. Judge Robert Jay released a detailed decision rejecting the defendants’ attempt to end the lawsuit brought by the Brazilian. Massa accuses Bernie Ecclestone, Formula One Management (FOM) and the International Automobile Federation (FIA) of having acted together to hide that the accident caused by Nelsinho Piquet at the 2008 Singapore GP was intentional.
With this decision, Massa won an important victory. The hearings held so far have served the British court to evaluate the defendants’ request to dismiss the action. As the judge refused this request, the case will proceed to a full trial and will officially enter the legal deadlines. A new hearing must be scheduled within the next two months.
This Saturday (22/11), Felipe Massa was at Kartódromo Granja Viana, in Cotia (SP), and spoke exclusively with the Sporting News. The interview took place after a kart race by the driver, currently 44 years old and in Stock Car, against influencers and journalists. The race was promoted by the betting house Betano, sponsor of the Brazilian.
In conversation with the TSNFelipe Massa highlighted the feeling in the fight for the F1 2008 title:
– I believe in Justice and always have. What was done to me is not fair to a sportsman who is there fighting for victory, for his dream. Suddenly, something that is not part of the sport takes a title from you, from a nation, from a team, from the team’s fans. I have to fight, because I have always believed in justice and I have always believed that what is right is what is right.
Felipe Massa also praised Brazilian Gabriel Bortoleto, 21, Sauber driver in F1:
– I think he had a very good debut year, with excellent results. I’m confident that Gabriel has a lot to improve and is making his team and so many other fans happy with his first year in Formula 1.
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Singaporegate: understand the case and situation of Felipe Massa
The 2008 Singapore GP episode marked the first proven case of result manipulation in a Formula 1 race. Felipe Massa disputes the final result of the 2008 Formula 1 World Championship because of the episode that was marked as “Singapuragate” – the deliberate crash of Nelsinho Piquet during the Singapore GP. The maneuver, carried out under orders from Renault, was intended to favor Fernando Alonso, his teammate, paving the way for him to win the race.
In that race, Renault was going through an unstable phase, and Nelsinho’s accident on the Marina Bay urban circuit led to the entry of the safety car exactly the ideal moment for Alonso to gain a strategic advantage in the pits – which ended up happening.
Massa, who had been leading the race, saw his race fall apart after a Ferrari failure: when he stopped to refuel, he left the pits with the hose still stuck, losing a lot of time and only returning in 13th place.
The images of the hose attached to Massa’s car at the 2008 Singapore GP were marked, illustrating the error that completely compromised his race in the race.
Lewis Hamilton, who finished third in that race, scored six decisive points in the fight for the championship, ending the season just one point ahead of the Brazilian.
Renault’s scheme only came to light the following year, long after the dramatic end of the World Cup at the Brazilian GP, when Massa celebrated the title for a few seconds, until Hamilton overtook Timo Glock in the last corner and secured the cup.
If the Singapore GP had been canceled at the time, Massa would have ended the championship with 97 points, compared to Hamilton’s 92 – which would have made him 2008 world champion.
In last Thursday’s decision, judge Robert Jay, in addition to leaving Felipe Massa’s case open, accepted the request for compensation for the losses caused to the pilot. The amount requested by Massa is 64 million pounds sterling (approximately R$450 million) for contracts and bonuses that were no longer fulfilled. The demand that the FIA declare that Massa would be that year’s champion if the rules had not been violated has been denied for now. However, nothing prevents the Brazilian from requesting recognition of the title again during the new hearing, which must be done.
An agreement could also put an end to the process. A conciliation involving Massa, Ecclestone, FIA and FOM is possible to avoid a prolonged dispute, but the Brazilian would have to be crowned champion.
Felipe Massa is not trying to nullify McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton’s title. The Brazilian’s objective is to obtain recognition that he should also be considered champion of that season. If this happens, F1 would have two champions in the same year for the first time.
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