Toto Wolff says Mercedes is interested in Felipe Massa’s legal challenge regarding the 2008 world championship. Massa is hoping to invalidate the result of the 2008 Singapore GP due to the Crashgate scandal. In 2008, Massa missed out on the championship by just one point, with Lewis Hamilton taking the title.
Toto Wolff is paying attention to Felipe Massa’s legal case from 2008. The outcome of this case will be important for future similar cases.
Felipe Massa finished second in the 2008 Formula One World Championship, missing out on the title by just one point to Lewis Hamilton. Massa believes that the outcome of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix should be reconsidered due to the infamous ‘Crashgate’ scandal. This scandal involved Renault instructing their driver, Nelson Piquet Jr, to intentionally crash in order to benefit his teammate, Fernando Alonso, who ultimately went on to win the race.
Massa sought legal help after Bernie Ecclestone mentioned that he and Max Mosley were aware in 2008 that Piquet’s crash was planned but did nothing about it.
The rules of F1 state that the season’s results become official when the world championship trophy is presented at the end-of-season awards ceremony.
Speaking on Friday, Wolff said the case was “interesting to follow” for Mercedes.
“Clearly not something that anybody saw coming,” Wolff said in Singapore.
“The rule is pretty clear in Formula 1. There’s a civil case behind it, it will certainly set a precedent whatever it is.
“We are looking from the sidelines with curiosity.”
The question is whether Mercedes will take any action regarding Lewis Hamilton’s controversial loss to Max Verstappen in 2021.
Hamilton lost the championship in the last lap of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix after the race director, Michael Masi, made a mistake with the Safety Car and allowed one final lap of racing between Verstappen and Hamilton.
The Safety Car was called back to the pit lane by Masi without completing an extra lap as required. Only the five cars between Hamilton and Verstappen were allowed to unlap themselves, not all the lapped cars.
Verstappen passed Hamilton on the last lap to win the race and become the world champion.
Mercedes dropped their appeal, and Verstappen was declared the champion for the 2021 race.
In March of last year, the FIA stated that there was an element of “human error” in the controversy surrounding the Abu Dhabi GP in 2021. They also mentioned that race director Masi acted with good intentions, and therefore, the race results and championship outcome are considered valid.
Wolff commented on whether the 2021 title outcome could change if Massa’s case was successful. The FIA was clear in their statement regarding the race.
“So that is why we are looking at it with interest.”
Speaking on Thursday, Hamilton said of Massa’s legal case: “I’m really not focused on what happened 15 years ago or two years ago.
“I’m focused on right now and how to help my team build towards winning another world championship and the future.”
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