Lewis Hamilton 'could take Max Verstappen to court' if Felipe Massa wins fight

08 November 2023 , 12:11

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Lewis Hamilton 'could take Max Verstappen to court' if Felipe Massa wins fight

The F1 driver who played a pivotal role in Lewis Hamilton's 2008 F1 title win has warned that Felipe Massa could ignite chaos if he wins his current legal battle to get the outcome overturned.

Timo Glock's gamble of staying out on dry tyres as the rain teemed down in the season finale in Brazil proved crucial as Hamilton, who had changed to intermediates, was able to overtake him en route to finishing fifth. That proved enough for the then McLaren man to claim the Championship by a single point from Ferrari's Felipe Massa.

Massa has this year taken legal action however, following revelations that F1 bosses were aware that Nelson Piquet Jnr had deliberately crashed his vehicle during the Singapore Grand Prix that year. Massa was leading at the time but the subsequent safety car scuppered his hopes, and the Brazilian would eventually finish 13th.

But Glock, who represented Toyota that year, is sceptical as to whether Massa's course of action is the right one. And he's even suggested that should the 42-year-old be successful then Hamilton himself could delve into the controversial finish to the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix that ultimately cost him an unprecedented eighth title.

Asked for his views on the saga, the German driver said: “I mean, I’m not 100% sure if it’s the right way to do it, let’s say. I was surprised when I saw it because, you know, after such a long time to go in front of court - I don’t know if it will work out for him.

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"I mean, he knows what he’s doing. He knows the facts, I don’t know the facts, actually, what are the details of it. So we will see. In the end, if he makes the step and even wins it, we could see another court facing maybe Lewis Hamilton against Max Verstappen.

Max Verstappen's defeat of Lewis Hamilton in Abu Dhabi remains a controversial topic in F1 (AFP via Getty Images)

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And Glock even insinuated Hamilton may not be the only one to explore action of his own: “This opens up a lot of cases where other drivers could raise their hand and say, ‘Guys, listen, in whatever championship in that year, if that would have not have happened, I would have been champion, you know?'"

Hamilton appeared to be cruising to the chequered flag in Abu Dhabi two years ago when a crash from Williams driver Nicholas Latifi sparked a now notorious series of events. Mercedes protested the outcome, but there case was dismissed by FIA stewards.

Toto Wolff and co then immediately signalled their intention to launch a second appeal. However, they eventually dropped that course of action, but FIA Race Director Michael Masi was removed from his role ahead of the 2022 campaign.

Fraser Watson