A few days ago, ex-Ferrari legend, Felipe Massa, awoke from his 15 years of slumber to put forth his claim on the 2008 WDC title, which Lewis Hamilton won in a dramatic manner. Why so late, you ask? Because ex-F1 honcho Bernie Ecclestone declared that one of the darkest moments in the history of F1 is why Massa lost his title. And this entire controversy now surrounds what can be termed the darkest moment of Formula 1 history. But what actually happened on that dreaded day?
2008, Singapore GP saw an unexpected crash involving Nelson Piquet junior at turn 17 on lap 14, where his teammate, Fernando Alonso, benefitted the most. But the team soon booted out the man who came out to accept that the crash was in fact an orchestrated one intending to benefit Alonso. However, the incident brought out a safety car that saw a horrible pit stop and refueling disaster by Ferrari, which eventually was viewed as the biggest dent in his championship hopes. And now Nelson Piquet’s son, who was the offender of the crash, has come out to clear the air.
As quoted by Formula Passion, Piquet said, “It was a team order made to help someone within our team –– it was not done to harm Felipe Massa. There was no such thing. It was a mistake. But, in the position I was in, dreaming of staying in F1 for many years, the Singapore race arrived and they psychologically cornered me. ”
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While Piquet has now admitted to not intending to hurt Massa, Massa wanted to explore all the possible options to take back what he could only relish for 20 seconds.
Felipe Massa eyes Lewis Hamilton’s 2008 title
A youngster only in his second year of Formula 1 made several overtakes in the last lap to wipe the smile off of Ferrari’s rejoicing camp. Felipe Massa was crowned a champion for 20 seconds before Lewis made an overtake on Timo Glock to rewrite history. However, Massa now wants it back.
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As quoted by Motorsports, Massa 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.”
He admitted to knowing the rule but not acting on it. He said, “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.” “[…] 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.”
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Do you think the 2008 title can be reversed after a fifteen-year lapse? Can Lewis be left with only six championships?