The 2008 F1 Championship season was filled with intrigue and drama that continues to unfold years later. One of the key players in this unfolding saga is Ferrari‘s Felipe Massa, who came agonizingly close to winning the championship, only to lose it in controversial circumstances. Now, Massa is challenging Lewis Hamilton for the championship title in a court of law, raising questions about the legitimacy of that year’s championship.

The story begins with the “crashgate” scandal, where Renault asked their driver Nelson Piquet Jr. to deliberately crash during the Singapore Grand Prix to give their other driver, Fernando Alonso, an advantage. While Alonso did win the race, he finished only fifth in the championship standings. In that same race, Massa finished out of the points, while Hamilton took third place, putting him in a strong position for the championship.

The final race of the season saw Massa win the race, but he lost the championship by a single point as Hamilton overtook Timo Glock to finish in fifth place, securing the championship. However, the revelation of the crashgate scandal cast a shadow over the championship and raised questions about the legitimacy of the result. Even more recently, F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone revealed that the authorities knew about the crime, adding another layer of intrigue to the story.

But was the championship really within Felipe Massa’s reach? Was it because of the crash that he lost the title? Or because of his and the team’s doings? Let’s find out.

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Now, Massa has assembled a team to present his case for the championship title in court, reigniting the hope of claiming the championship that was snatched from his grasp in 2008. The coming court proceedings promise to shed light on the many mysteries surrounding that season and could potentially alter the course of F1 history.

What cost Felipe Massa his championship?

Massa’s claim that crashgate was the sole factor behind him losing the championship stands very weak. Firstly, considering the race where the scandal occurred itself, it wasn’t Renault or Lewis Hamilton’s McLaren that cost Ferrari and Massa the win. Starting from the pole, the race was theirs to grab. But the team’s age-old habit of mucking up the pit stops came into play.

It all began in Australia, the season opener, where Massa spun out of third place, costing him valuable points. He suffered a similar fate in Malaysia, where he spun out of second place, further denting his championship hopes. In Hungary, his power unit gave out just two laps from the end, costing him a victory. So, can crashgate again be blamed for these losses?

While some may argue that these incidents were unfortunate and had nothing to do with “crashgate,” the courts may argue that they cost Massa at least 26 points. However, Hamilton’s camp could argue that they, too, suffered from their own misfortunes and that they are the rightful owners of the title.

Despite the arguments from both sides, one thing is certain: Massa’s fuel hose issue during the Singapore Grand Prix was team-inflicted, regardless of the reasons surrounding that pitstop. This incident cost him valuable points and damaged his chances of winning the championship. 

Massa must demonstrate that Ecclestone is telling the truth and that, if Max Mosley was still alive, he would concur. However, Mosley never liked to implicate himself, and it’s unlikely that any conversations he may have had with Ecclestone were ever written down or overheard by anyone else.

History doesn’t favor Felipe Massa

The championship run in 2008 was the peak of Massa’s career. After that, one might say that the Brazilian never truly recovered, as the 2008 Brazil GP win remained his last in the sport until his retirement in 2017. But do the previous scandals back him up or play against him?

The idea of Massa challenging the legitimacy of the 2008 F1 championship has raised questions about the practicality and fairness of such an action. Critics argue that reopening old wounds and questioning the integrity of the sport may do more harm than good. They also point out that Hamilton and McLaren had nothing to do with the crashgate scandal, and punishing them now based on Ecclestone’s confessions would be unfair.

Furthermore, there is a concern about setting a precedent if every title runner-up or their heirs were to bring up perceived injustices from the past. This could open Pandora’s box of accusations and counter-accusations that could tarnish the sport’s reputation and integrity. The case could become a slippery slope, with allegations going back decades, such as the 1983 season when Ecclestone and Piquet Sr. were alleged to have used illegal fuels to win, or the 2009 season when Brawn GP allegedly used “illegal” diffusers to win the titles.

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In summary, while Massa’s challenge to the 2008 championship has its merits, it also raises significant practical and ethical questions. Any investigation into the matter would have to be conducted with the utmost care to avoid damaging the sport’s reputation and opening up Pandora’s box of accusations and counter-accusations.