16 September 2023 , 12:46
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Red Bull adviser Helmut Marko said he wants Felipe Massa's legal bid to take the 2008 Formula 1 title from Lewis Hamilton to be successful.
The Brazilian is ramping up legal action against both F1 and the FIA over the outcome of that championship from 15 years ago. It was sparked by a claim from Bernie Ecclestone earlier this year that he and then-FIA chief Max Mosley knew about the 'Crashgate' scandal before it became public knowledge.
Ecclestone has since said he cannot remember giving those quotes. But Massa is pressing on with his legal challenge anyway and wants the result of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix scrubbed, which would chance the outcome of the title race.
It remains to be seen whether Massa's legal team will be able to present a compelling case. But Red Bull adviser Marko believes the Brazilian might have a chance of achieving his goal.
"If there are new facts, the matter can be opened up. And then the chances for Massa aren't so bad," he told Austrian outlet Krone. "The only question is, where would we be if we had to re-evaluate many other races where there were incidents?"
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And Marko went on to make a dig at his team's Mercedes rivals by expressing his personal desire to see Massa successful in his legal challenge, because it would then mean that Hamilton would be relegated to being a six-time world champion.
He added: "It was terrible to see how Massa celebrated winning the title for 20 seconds in Brazil and then suddenly everything was gone. I would like him to be awarded this title – and Mr. Hamilton, for whom records aren't that important, would then have one less."
However, a successful result for Massa might not be all bad news for Hamilton. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said he will be keeping a close eye on the outcome of the legal challenge as it could give the Silver Arrows to revisit the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in which Hamilton was controversially beaten to the title by Max Verstappen.
Wolff said: "This is clearly not something that anybody saw coming, the rules are pretty clear in Formula 1. If there's a civil case behind it, it would certainly set a precedent, whatever it is. We are looking from the sidelines with curiosity. The FIA commented on the 2021 race with a clear statement, so that's why we were looking at it with interest."