F1
Will Felipe Massa reclaim the coveted 2008 title?
© Florent Gooden / DPPI
At the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, Nelson Piquet Jr. went off the track and crashed his Renault R28 against the wall. The accident ultimately turned out to have been orchestrated by Flavio Briatore, then director of the Renault team.
The crash triggered a safety car for Piquet's teammate, Fernando AlonsoThe neutralization allowed the Spaniard to take the lead and then win the Grand Prix. At the same time, the incident penalized Massa, who lost the lead of the race.
Having missed out on seven points that day, the Brazilian was not crowned world champion at the end of the season. He thus missed out on the coveted trophy... by just one point. Lewis Hamilton He won his first title in 2008. Considering this defeat unfair, the Brazilian had initiated legal proceedings seeking compensation in 2024.
Briatore's return revives the scandal of the " crash gate »
The scandal of the " crash gate » returned to the headlines when Flavio Briatore, former Renault boss and alleged instigator of the accident, returned to the paddock of the Formula 1. Now executive director of the stable Alpine, Briatore continued to deny any involvement in the case during a maintenance granted in June 2025 to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. Facts disputed by Nelson Piquet Sr.: he had claimed at the time to Charlie Whiting, race director, that his son had been forced off the track by Briatore. Initially banned for life from the sport, the former Renault boss later saw his suspension overturned. A return to Formula 1 that remains, even today, highly controversial.
The statements by Jean Todt and Bernie Ecclestone have added insult to injury
While some see a real injustice, others believe Felipe Massa is clinging to the past. In 2023, statements from Jean Todt, former president of the FIA, and Bernie Ecclestone, former CEO of the Formula One Group, corroborated Massa's claims. These revelations reopened a wound that was thought to have healed.
Bernie Ecclestone had indeed admitted the wrongdoing of the sports decision-makers of the time: " We decided to do nothing. We wanted to protect F1 and spare it a huge scandal. That's why I persuaded my former driver, Nelson Piquet, to stay calm for a while.»
Ecclestone further confirmed that the inaction of the FIA and FOM had had major consequences on the outcome of the 2008 championship. At the time, the rule was that a World Championship classification was untouchable after the FIA prize-giving ceremony, deciphered the former director of the FOM. So Hamilton received the trophy and everything went well. We had enough information in time to investigate this matter. According to the statutes, we should have canceled the Singapore race under these conditions. This means that it would never have taken place to establish the championship standings. And it would have been Felipe Massa who would have become World Champion, not Lewis Hamilton. " recognized the Briton.
A trial to appease Massa… and win back a title?
Convinced that he was the victim of a "conspiracy," the Brazilian continues his quest for compensation. After first attempting a amicable resolution with the FIA, Massa finally launched a judiciary process against Formula One Management (FOM), the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA) and Bernie Ecclestone in 2024. Further hearings will take place in October of this year.
Massa assures that he will obtain compensation for this "conspiracy." The former pilot Classic Ferrari for sale returned to the situation in the show "At the Bridge of the Fingers" from GE. “ It was an unacceptable conspiracy in sport, and unfortunately, my country and I paid the biggest price for it. " lamented the Brazilian. Felipe Massa remains confident, however, about the conduct of the next hearings: " An intense fight lies ahead, but I think that ultimately, in sport, justice must always be done properly. ».
Is the Brazilian aiming for the 2008 title or simply for justice to be done after the injustice that has haunted him ever since?
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Alain Féguenne (Luxembourg)
07/09/2025 at 04:49 a.m.
I am of the opinion that Felipe Massa ….. is the 2008 World Champion …… because the Singapore race and the results should have been annulled….😠. But it is true ….. that 17 years later….. restoring the truth is difficult …. to make many people understand…….!!!! 😎👀👍🇧🇷👀🇧🇷
SYLVAIN DUCREUX
07/09/2025 at 02:59 a.m.
Even if the courts ruled in his favor, in the minds of fans around the world, the 1 F2008 world champion will forever be Lewis Hamilton. Reclaiming a title on the green carpet 17 years later wouldn't amount to much. On that basis, why not reexamine every racing incident deemed ill-judged since 1950 and rewrite history? His actions are ridiculous after so many years.
eric stevens
07/09/2025 at 02:45 a.m.
He was already pathetic as a driver, it's worse now! All of F1 is rigged all the time! If he only finds out about this, he's even dumber than I thought. Anyway, there's nothing to say he wouldn't have given up afterward if the incident hadn't happened, and the pipe that's stuck to his car wasn't put in by Alonso. Go cry, you were just an average guy, you had a great career more for your passport than your talent, look ahead and not behind.
vincent moyet
07/09/2025 at 12:56 a.m.
Changing all the statistics seems difficult, everything that has been written for years would be false, Hamilton would only have 6 titles, etc. On the other hand, does F1 remain credible if we know that the statistics are false, that the record of certain drivers is overrated? It is practically the entire edifice that collapses, all the results of F1 since 1950 that no longer have any comparative value. And doing nothing leads to the same thing: if we do not punish those who cheat, then the results and the statistics have no value either, it is hot air. Not to mention the precedent that this represents. Ecclestone and Briatore are both revealed as the gravediggers of F1, characters who should never have had a place there.