11 September 2023 , 15:10
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Lawyers working on behalf of Felipe Massa are confident they can strip Lewis Hamilton of his first Formula One title.
Hamilton won his maiden title by a single point from Ferrari’s Massa in dramatic fashion at the Singapore Grand Prix in 2008. The Brit finished third in a rain-affected night race to pip Massa to the title in controversial circumstances following a crash by Nelson Piquet Jr.
Massa started on pole but could only finish 12th after a botched pit stop cost him the title. But Renault driver Piquet admitted in 2009 that he crashed deliberately on the orders from his team to get the safety car deployed in order to help team-mate Fernando Alonso, who subsequently won the race.
It is an admission that Massa and his team believe means the race should have been cancelled. Massa’s lawyer, Bernardo Viana, has given the sport's governing body, the FIA, until mid-October to respond to a Letter Before Claim sent to them in August.
"The objective is to bring the trophy home. It's not financial,” Viana told Motorsport.com. "To get there, several measures will be taken with different aims, some to obtain information and others to obtain statements. We want everything that happened in 2008/09 to come to light.”
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He added: “We understand that there is even more information that has not been made public."
Massa has assembled a legal team which also includes Nick De Marco, the sports law barrister who represented Newcastle in their legal battle with the Premier League over the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund takeover.
Felipe Massa is challenging the title outcome in 2008 (Getty Images)
Hamilton celebrates with McLaren team manager Ron Dennis in Brazil after his first title (AFP via Getty Images)Massa has previously described the events in Singapore as a “conspiracy” and has vowed to “fight to the end” to be named world champion – but Viana insists there is nothing against Hamilton, who they want to give evidence to support the claim.
"Felipe has nothing against Hamilton, absolutely nothing," he said. "This case is against what was done by the previous leadership at FOM and FIA. We have nothing against Hamilton.”
Massa’s case is strengthened by Bernie Ecclestone’s admission in March that he regretted not taking action at the time, admitting he felt the Brazilian driver had been "cheated" out of the championship.
Nelson Piquet Jr deliberately crashed to ensure a safety car for Renault team-mate Fernando Alonso (Sutton Motorsport/Press Association Images)"I consider myself with great chances of having had that title," Massa told esportelandia in May. "If you remember Singapore, it was a steal. After Bernie Ecclestone spoke about it, we are trying to understand, legally, if there is any chance of going back."
He added: "So it just goes to show that I was totally wronged by what happened that year, in a stolen race. This made me lift the antenna and go after justice. I'm not a lawyer, but everyone knows, I was clearly wronged and I think justice is part of our fight to get what happened right.
"That was a stolen run. It was manipulation, which is a very serious thing. It wasn't an engine that broke down. There was also an engine that broke, but that's part of the game. They made Nelsinho Piquet crash because he wanted to help his team-mate, who was last in the race, to win. They totally did a manipulation for a result."