Felipe Massa fighting tears and thumping his chest on the podium of the 2008 season finale is one of the most iconic moments of modern F1 if not the entire history of the sport. The Brazilian missed out on the championship to Lewis Hamilton by just one point, despite winning the race. Massa’s fate took a turn in the final lap when Lewis Hamilton overtook Timo Glock to finish P5, which is all he needed to do to win his maiden world title. However, it wasn’t that race that cost Felipe the world championship he could never have. It was the Singapore GP, where the infamous ‘Crashgate’ incident saw him finish P13. It has been more than 15 years since then and Massa demands justice. But is his source the most trustworthy person?
Earlier last month, Bernie Ecclestone, the F1 boss back then, admitted to knowing that Nelson Piquet Jr crashed on purpose in the 2008 Singapore GP. However, he and the FIA kept quiet so as to avoid tarnishing the sport’s image. However, he hypocritically slammed the FIA for not doing anything about the results of that race later. Now that Massa is looking to get the results of that race overturned, he is perhaps basing his arguments on Ecclestone’s statement.
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Discussing the hot topic on a recent episode of The Late Braking F1 Podcast, co-host Ben said, “The source here is Bernie Ecclestone. Realistically, there’s only two people who are going to be in the know enough about this. One of them is Bernie Ecclestone. The other is Max Mosley (then FIA boss) who sadly passed away. And of the two, I trust Max Mosley’s word of it more than Bernie Ecclestone. I mean he’s no longer with us. That should tell you how much I trust Bernie Ecclestone.“
While Ben felt Bernie was an untrustworthy source, his podcast partner felt Sam felt Massa should gather more legitimate sources to back his claim.
Felipe Massa’s crusade against Lewis Hamilton dubbed “sad”
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Massa putting up a valiant display on the podium at Interlagos was enough to bring the toughest to tears. The Brazilian’s heartbreak was a heartbreak for every F1 fan. Imagine being the man himself who was denied the glory just because of some very unlucky circumstances. No wonder the former Ferrari driver is still looking to somehow get the decision overturned in his favor.
Ben continued, “It’s one of the more sadder, most recent episodes in F1 history really. And this just adds to it. Regardless of what the outcome is, regardless of whether they give him his title or whether nothing happens from this, the fact that this is being resurfaced at all, it just adds to the whole sadness of the episode really.”
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Do you think the FIA will rule in Massa’s favor? Or has that ship sailed too long ago?