Explainer: Why Felipe Massa Is Challenging His 2008 Championship Loss To Lewis Hamilton

[Image: Goodfon]

News broke this week that Felipe Massa’s case against Formula 1 in regards to the infamous 2008 “Crashgate” scandal will be heard in October this year.

The scrutiny surrounding Felipe Massa’s 2008 Formula 1 championship loss stems from the controversial 2008 Singapore Grand Prix that saw Renault’s Nelson Piquet Jr. ‘deliberately’ crash – playing a key role in Massa losing the championship to Lewis Hamilton by just one point.

Perhaps remembered as F1’s biggest controversy, here is an explainer of “Crashgate” – what happened, why and how it affected the outcome of the 2008 world championship between Felipe Massa and Lewis Hamilton.

• Renault’s Nelson Piquet Jr. deliberately crashed under team orders to bring out a safety car, helping teammate Fernando Alonso win.
• Massa, who was leading at the time, had a disastrous pit stop during the safety car period—he left with the fuel hose still attached, dropping him out of contention.
• Without this incident, Massa likely would have finished in the points and potentially won the title.
• The truth about Renault’s race-fixing only emerged in 2009, a year after Massa lost the championship.
• Renault was punished, but the race result stood, and no points were adjusted.
• Massa argues that since the FIA and F1 knew about the scandal before the 2008 season ended but took no action, the Singapore race should be annulled.
• If the race were voided, Massa would have gained enough points to be the rightful champion instead of Hamilton.
• He has sought legal recourse to challenge the championship result.

Challenges to Massa’s Case:

• FIA regulations state that championship results are final once the season concludes.
• Precedent: No past F1 titles have been overturned due to later scandals or misjudgments.
• Time lapsed: The case is over 15 years old, making legal intervention difficult.