The Brazilian race car driver Felipe Massa wants to petition a British court to overturn the outcome of the Formula 1 championship, which he thinks he lost unjustly.
The catch is that the publication he needs is dated 2008.
Massa lost the title that year by one point, but he is now seeking a reversal due to a controversy involving an allegedly premeditated collision in one race and subsequent admissions.
However, many athletes feel uneasy about revisiting an old case. Mercedes’ current team leader, Toto Wolff, warned reporters over the weekend that the sport would be in chaos if everyone disclosed their situational strategies.
Formula 1 has not commented on the accusations or responded to a request for comment sent on Wednesday, despite receiving a formal letter from Massa’s solicitors last month.
The contentious race took place in Singapore in September of 2008. Massa was leading until Nelson Piquet Jr.’s accident, which caused race officials to lower the pace behind a safety car. Because of this, Fernando Alonso, another driver, had a significant edge. Alonso began the race in 15th position, but since he was the only driver to have performed a pit stop before to the accident, he was able to grab the lead and keep it until the conclusion.
Massa’s racing day was ruined when he made a hash of his own pit stop and lost valuable points. At the conclusion of the season, he finished second to Lewis Hamilton.
Because Piquet was Alonso’s teammate, the assumption was quickly made that the accident had been deliberately caused. Piquet admitted to his team that they instructed him to crash a year after the race. An inquiry revealed that Alonso’s Renault team had conspired to rig the race, leading to the suspension of many team members. However, neither the rankings nor the champion changed.
Massa’s latest effort follows comments made by Bernie Ecclestone in March, who was in charge of Formula 1 at the time of the event but claims he knew about Piquet’s deliberate accident long before his public confession but did nothing about it. “We decided not to do anything for now; we wanted to protect the sport and save it from a huge scandal,” he said in a German interview with F1-Insider. He also said that he had convinced Piquet to keep silent at the time.
Eccleston, then 92 years old, created a stir in the F1 community by claiming he couldn’t recall giving the interview that prompted the uproar.
Even though he has more Formula One victories than any other driver in history and became even more well-known after appearing in the documentary “Drive to Survive,” Hamilton has chosen to stay out of the controversy. The previous month, he told reporters that he was “not really focused on what happened 15 years ago.”
Formula 1 has good reason to be wary about altering the outcomes of a past championship; there are lots of potential problems that may arise. Hamilton is tied for the record with Michael Schumacher after seven victories, but would fall to second position if Felipe Massa were to win the 2008 season. Ecclestone said, “Michael Schumacher is still the sole record world champion,” during an interview in March.
It’s possible to re-litigate other titles that have been in contention. The 2021 Formula One World Championship came down to the last race of the season, and thanks to an official’s decision to allow an extra lap, Max Verstappen was able to overtake Lewis Hamilton and claim victory.
Later, Formula 1 admitted that their decision was wrong, but they still didn’t adjust the rankings.
Hamilton’s Mercedes team may seek a reversal based on the 2021 error if the 2008 championship were to be reopened. The head of the Mercedes team, Toto Wolff, said that he was watching the Massa issue “with interest” and keeping an eye on the contested championship.
It’s not the first time a sports record has been entered to the books and then immediately called into question. Lazio, an Italian football club, is still bitter over losing out on a league championship after a season was abruptly ended.
