It was about a week ago that former Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa made the news again. No, it wasn’t because he’s making a shock return to the sport. Instead, it was to claim what he feels is “rightfully his.” What does that mean, you ask? In 2008, the Brazilian was fighting against Lewis Hamilton for the title. In the final race of the season in Brazil—his home race—Massa lost the championship by a single point. While nothing went wrong during that race, the former Ferrari driver believes it all went wrong at the Singapore GP.

F1’s trip to the Marina Bay Circuit in 2008 will go down as one of the most controversial incidents in the sport. That was where Crashgate happened. What was it? Then-Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr. was asked by his team to intentionally crash so his teammate, Fernando Alonso, could win the race. Because of crucial points Massa lost during that race, he believes he could’ve won the championship and has set out to make things “right.”

Lewis Hamilton borrows a page from Bernie Ecclestone’s book

Although Crashgate didn’t directly affect the championship, Hamilton finished P3, but Massa finished P13 due to a mishap during the Safety Car—losing out on crucial points. Recently, Massa caught wind that the FIA had conclusive evidence to declare the race’s results null and void before the season ended but didn’t do anything about it. He gathered a legal team and filed a $13 million lawsuit against F1’s governing body for making him “the victim of a conspiracy.”

This came after he heard then-F1 owner Bernie Ecclestone admit the title was Massa’s. During an interview, Ecclestone said, as quoted by crash.net, “We wanted to protect the sport and save it from a huge scandal. I still feel sorry for Massa today. He was cheated out of the title he deserved, while Hamilton had all the luck in the world and won his first championship.” When Reuters approached the 92-year-old last week about these comments, he said, “I don’t remember any of this, to be honest. I don’t remember giving the interview for sure.” 

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It looks like Hamilton is using the same trick as well. Considering this saga started during the summer break and F1 just resumed at the Dutch GP, this was the first time the media could ask the seven-time champion about the charade. When reports brought up the topic, Hamilton deflected and said, “I have a really bad memory, so I don’t really remember a lot, to be honest. I’m really just focused on the here and now and helping the team get back into the championship and the race. I’m not really focused on what happened 15 years ago.” Even if Hamilton had commented, it wouldn’t have made a difference in what would most likely happen with the case.

Amid Felipe Massa’s $13,000,000 Lawsuit Against Lewis Hamilton, Shocking Details of Another Mercedes Scandal Gets Exposed

Lewis Hamilton is in no danger of losing his 2008 title

While Massa is trying to get monetary compensation for the 2008 title, it’s also evident he wants that elusive championship to his name, considering he hasn’t won any. But that might not be possible, and Hamilton’s title is most likely safe. And guess what has helped Hamilton’s case? The (controversial) final showdown at the 2021 Abu Dhabi GP that lost Hamilton his eighth world championship.

As per a video by The Race, If it’s what he considers real justice, which probably means making him the 2008 World champion instead, then there’s presumably no chance. There was no recourse to make Hamilton the 2021 champion after a race that, months later, the FIA essentially admitted was fundamentally influenced by the wrong application of the rules, which is a real injustice. So there’s presumably no grounds to amend the outcome from 2008 on the basis of another competitor cheating in a Grand Prix that wasn’t even the final decisive act.”

What did you think of the tactics Lewis Hamilton employed to curb the Massa issue?

WATCH THIS STORY | How Fernando Alonso’s 2008 Singapore GP Win Became One of F1’s Worst Controversies – Crashgate