Fifteen years after the Singapore crashgate scandal, that deliberate accident of Nelsinho Piquet against the wall of the urban layout to enable the victory of his then partner Fernando Alonso, the person greatly affected by the trick wants to collect the bill “to do justice”: Felipe Massa (41 years old) claims what is his.
The Brazilian ex-driver, who was playing for the 2008 crown with Lewis Hamilton, is considering taking legal action against the International Federation (FIA) to revoke the result of that race, won by Alonso (his victory number 20/32), and with it, the awarding of the world title, which went to Hamilton. And if he prospered? Hamilton would not have 7 titles… nor Alonso 32 victories.
And why now, 15 years later, does Massa want to remove one of the biggest scandals in F1? Everyone will wonder…
Well, because of Bernie Ecclestone, who at 92 continues to make people talk, six seasons after leaving the management of the great circus. The last one he blurted out, in early March, was that “Hamilton’s first title shouldn’t be counted because it wasn’t legitimate” due to the Singapore crashgate.
According to the nonagenarian tycoon, who was the boss of F1 in 2008, both he and the then FIA president, Max Mosley, were “in the know” of what happened at the Marina Bay circuit. That is to say, they were aware of the plan perpetrated by Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds, the people in charge of Renault, bosses of Alonso and Nelsinho Piquet. “We decided to do nothing because we wanted to protect the sport (F1) from a huge scandal,” Mr E said in an interview on F1 Insider.
In statements collected by the American portal Motorsport.com in its Brazilian edition, Felipe Massa regrets that the FIA ​​punished Briatore and Symonds with excommunication “but nothing happened with a result that was stolen.”
“After 15 years, we hear that the then owner of F1 talks that he knew it in 2008, together with the president of the FIA, and they did nothing to not dirty the name of F1. This is very sad. To know that something was stolen from you, that the result of that race had to be annulled and I would have a title. In the end, the biggest loser with that result was me”, lamented Massa, in statements made over the weekend during the Stock Car Pro Series in Goiania.
What Massa is asking for now is “justice”, not financial compensation.
“I would seek justice. I think that if you have been punished for something that was not your fault, it is the product of a robbery, of a stolen race, justice must be done. In fact, the right thing to do is to annul the result of that race, that It is the only justice that is done in a case like this”, requests the Brazilian ex-driver.
Massa advocates that “if it has been shown that this race was stolen, it must be annulled, that is fair.” And he gives as an example the case of Lance Armstrong, who was dispossessed of the 7 Tours won when it was shown that he ran doped. “What’s the difference?” Massa wonders.
What does the former Brazilian driver, who lost the World Cup by a single point to Lewis Hamilton, plan to do now?
“I intend to study the situation, the result, what the laws say, the regulations… we have to get an idea of ​​what can be done. I have no financial interest in this. Sue the FIA ​​to win? money but without changing the result? That does not interest me. What interests me is correct justice”, explained Massa, who in 2017 became the president of the FIA ​​karting commission.
The 2008 Singapore GP race had Fernando Alonso as the totally unexpected winner, at the wheel of a very uncompetitive Renault. In that race he started 15th, and became last (20th) when he made his first stop (he was the first at the pit-stop) on lap 13.
One turn later, oh surprise, his teammate Nelsinho Piquet crashed into the wall at turn 17, wrecked his car and the safety car appeared, so Alonso took over the lead (he had already stopped) and, given the difficulty of overtaking on the urban track, he ended up taking the victory… which he looked like it would be for Massa, leader from the start to the pit-stop.
As a result of that race, Hamilton took a 7-point lead over Massa, who put in a catastrophic performance (ripped the fuel hose at the pit-stop, had a penalty drive-through and finished 13th, without points).
