In the round-up: Felipe Massa explains why he is going to court over the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
In brief
Massa “will fight until the end”
Massa’s legal team confirmed yesterday it is bringing proceedings against the FIA, FOM and Bernie Ecclestone over the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix. The former Ferrari driver is seeking to prove the results of the race should have been cancelled in their entirety, which would have made him that year’s world champion.
“I always said I would fight until the end,” he told Globo. “As the FIA and FOM have decided to do nothing, we will seek the correction of this historic injustice in the courts.
“The matter is now with the lawyers and they are fully authorised to do whatever is necessary so that justice in the sport is done.”
Ecclestone endorses Massa’s legal move
Ecclestone, whose comments on the race last year inspired Massa’s efforts to seek the title through the courts, said he supported Massa’s decision.“If he had asked me, I would have said it was the complete right thing to do, to sue, and to let an English judge decide what is right and wrong,” he told the Press Association.
St Petersburg race too short – Power
Will Power believes IndyCar’s St Petersburg round has become less exciting since the race distance was shortened to 100 laps in 2020.
“A lot of fuel-save there at the beginning and the yellow fell at an unfortunate time which made it a bit more of a follow-the-leader sort of race,” said Power, who finished fourth on Sunday. “If it was extended by 10 laps like it used to be, then you would have a very big fuel window for the race.”
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Antonelli sees “big step” in second F2 weekend
Mercedes junior driver Andrea Kimi Antonelli feels he made a significant step forward in his second weekend in Formula 2 after scoring points in both races.
“The start of the feature race was much better,” he said, “then I was struggling with the pace throughout the whole race as I had some understeer. That cost us quite some lap time, but we were also quite unlucky because some drivers pitted with the Safety Car and moved in front of us gaining a lot of places.
“Of course, not the results we wanted, but it was a big step compared to Bahrain. We’ll see how it goes in Melbourne.”
Doohan to demonstrate F1 car with father
Alpine reserve driver Jack Doohan will perform a demonstration run at the Australian Grand Prix with his father Mick. The team’s reserve driver will be in a 2000 Benetton B200, his father on a Moto GP Honda RCV213.
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Links
Motor racing links of interest:
F1’s new Red Bull problem (Financial Times)
'Under US ownership, F1 has sought to present itself as forward-looking and inclusive, in a shift away from its long-ingrained macho-petrolhead culture. Now there is concern that the growing focus on off-track events — which helped build the new fan base in the first place — risks setting back a sport that has done much to widen its appeal, especially with women and girls.'
Tsolov’s Sakhir weekend in his words (Formula 3)
'Going into the sprint race, we decided to use a brand-new set of tyres for the race when most of the people around us were going to use them on Sunday. The idea was we would try and win a sprint race because winning the sprint gives out the same number of points as finishing (fifth) in the feature. But our chances of winning the sprint was much higher than starting in 11th and finishing fifth in the feature, so we use the new tyres.'
Toyota could consider third full-season entry for 2025 (Sportscar 365)
Team director Rob Leupen: 'We have to keep our eyes open. I don’t think you should deny (the possibility). It’s something we review and discuss every season.'
Josef Newgarden: 'It looked really good to me. I’ve seen a ton of negative noise, and I get it. Everyone wants to jump on anything, but everything I experienced this weekend was pretty incredible.'
Jos Verstappen reigns supreme at Hannuit Rally: 'Went really well' (Verstappen)
'On Saturday 16 March, Jos will contest the second round of the Belgian Rally Championship: Rally des Ardennes.'
Here is what happened to the BTCC Game (Race Department)
'It didn’t get it right. Ignition was a mess, and even if you leave a confused launch and bugs out of the equation, it just didn’t drive that well.'
Race highlights: Grand Prix of St Petersburg (Indy Nxt via YouTube)
We always endeavour to credit original sources. If you have a tip for a link relating to single-seater motorsport to feature in the next RaceFans round-up please send it to us via the contact form.
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Social media
Notable posts from X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and more:
Emerson Fittipaldi has begun legal proceedings over the 1973 Canadian Grand Prix https://t.co/ULBsWBmCn3
— Sean Kelly (@virtualstatman) March 11, 2024
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- Find more official F1 accounts to follow in the F1 Twitter Directory
Comment of the day
Lewis Hamilton needn’t worry about losing his 2008 championship title to Felipe Massa, says @Red-Andy:
This more or less puts to bed the idea that Massa could retrospectively be awarded the 2008 championship. From the press release it appears he is only seeking a declaration from the court, which would not change the outcome of the championship on its own.
He could have sought an order from the court to the FIA to change the result – but it is unlikely that the English High Court would have jurisdiction to make such an order, even if they were inclined to grant one. So it looks like a financial remedy is the most likely, if Massa is successful.
@Red-Andy
Happy birthday!
Happy birthday to Daniel, Garf, Michael Griffin, Monkzie, Nitin24, Obi-Spa Kenobi, Dodge5847, Gerulf Dosinger and Juan!
GT Racer (@gt-racer)
12th March 2024, 1:05
Regarding Singapore 2008 and what theFIA/FOM knew and why they didn’t act.
It’s my understanding that Piquet Jr’s crash possibly been deliberate was suspected by some in the paddock (In terms of other teams, drivers & media people) that night but that nobody acted as there was nothing but a bit of a suspicion (People having suspicions about things isn’t uncommon in the paddock though) and the stewards at that meeting just saw it as a normal crash so also didn’t act at the time.
Fast forward to Interlagos it is apparently here where Piquet Sr. During a lunch or something with Charlie Whiting brought up that it was deliberate. Charlie told him that if that was true he should tell Piquet Jr to come forward and say it on the record. Charlie at some point after allegedly told Max Mosley and he told Bernie.
Max spoke to Piquet Sr who told him what he had told Charlie and Max also said that Jr needed to come forward for them to be able to start an investigation. Jr who had a contract for 2009 was unwilling to do so as he didn’t want to jeapodise his career.
It was felt at that point that they didn’t have enough to open an investigation as essentially all they had was Piquet Sr making the claim when he wasn’t even in Singapore.
And just an extra note on that. You hear a lot of claims about a lot of things in the paddocks of this sport so the attitude tends to be that somebody needs to come forward and make a formal complaint before anything is done. Thats why you had things like the Michelin issue in 2003, What Michelin were doing was known but nothing was formally looked into until Bridgestone & Ferrari raised it with some accompanying evidence.
As soon as Piquet Jr came forward a few months later and made an official statement and gave them some direction in terms of who else knew they acted.
Again this is all just based on stuff I’ve heard over the years. Just putting it out there.
GT Racer (@gt-racer)
12th March 2024, 1:11
Also one more thing.
Why wait until now because none of this is new information.
Max spoke about it a few times over the years including on a Sky sports documentary. And Charlie Whiting had also mentioned it at least once during an interview maybe as far as back as 2011/12?
Piquet Snr speaking to Charlie about it at Interlagos 2008 was known in 2009 so even that isn’t anything remotely new.
It’s not as if Bernie’s comments last year was provided anything that new.
notagrumpyfan
12th March 2024, 8:08
My theory:
With F1 financially very strong and FOM now a listed USA company, it is the ideal time seek a financially rewarding settlement to stop this ‘distraction’ for FOM/FIA.
But Massa is involved, and he truely believes that he actually has a chance to be crowned paper world champion, rather than just make some money. He won’t settle for anything less, and his lawyers see a bigger pay day in billing hourly to him than a percentage of a settlement.
They might still settle though; but I hope this goes to the end.
PS maybe Netflix is funding/fuelling this.
Yellow Baron
12th March 2024, 8:16
I also hope the truth about ad21 comes out and that finally goes to the end. Expose the NDA and explain the real truth. Shame on mercedes for not making a case.
notagrumpyfan
12th March 2024, 9:56
A full investigation has been done, reported to the responsible bodies, and (an abbreviated version) shared with the world.
The problem is that many don’t want to accept it and/or keep sharing incorrect/incomplete conclusions.
Yellow Baron
13th March 2024, 4:45
Notagrumpyfan
A full investigation sounds nice and sweet unless of course it happens to be investigating yourself.
notagrumpyfan
13th March 2024, 7:49
The World Motorsport Council was happy with the report, and Mercedes didn’t find anything enough wrong with it to appeal, or take it further.
As mentioned above the problem is that you/others don’t understand what the report concluded*, or don’t accept it as it doesn’t agree with your beliefs.
* conclusions 1) safety car in on same lap: perfectly legal; 2) not all cars unlapping: wrong due to human error; 3) no impact on race result.
Yellow Baron
13th March 2024, 16:00
None of this you’re talking about addresses my original comment you replied to. And escapes the fact that they investigated themselves, of course this so called independent council approves. Not everything has been made apartment. Either you’re a shill, or you trust too much a system that has clearly shown it’s corrupt
joe (@geeijoe)
13th March 2024, 7:33
He has the time to chase it up now, it has been festering.
FIA knew about the deliberate crash at the time and should have done the right thing promptly. The FIA has to be held accountable for their (bad) decisions.
grat
12th March 2024, 13:21
There was an interview, not long after Piquet Jr. ratted out his team for firing him, with Charlie Whiting. I forget the exact wording, but it was basically “We suspected something fishy had happened. But we had no proof, and you can’t open up a full investigation and accuse a 2 time world champion of being involved in a fixed race on a feeling. You have to have proof, and we didn’t”.
I expect (hope) that interview will be considered admissible evidence.
Jay
12th March 2024, 1:58
I don’t care if F1 is ‘inclusive’ or not. It has absolutely zero impact on my enjoyment of the F1 weekends.
‘That was a great pass by Lewis but I sure wish F1 was more inclusive’. -Nobody
Tristan
12th March 2024, 3:01
You’re just highlighting the limit of your perspective by suggesting nobody thinks that.
ferrox glideh (@ferrox-glideh)
13th March 2024, 20:15
Tristan, I think that you are forgetting that Jay is the center of the universe.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
12th March 2024, 4:21
Massa is a drunk, who needs to find something else to feel aggrieved about.
Jere (@jerejj)
12th March 2024, 6:19
Sean Kelly’s joke is good.
Retired (@jeff1s)
12th March 2024, 6:43
I was delighted about a reply to him, showing Massa binning the Ferrari in the wall later in the Singapore 2008 race.
From champ to chomp as Power one said to Bourdais.
Yellow Baron
12th March 2024, 8:14
nowhere near as injust as abudhabi 2021.
Naow that I think about it actually, in light of this case, what were massa’s thoughts on ad 21 in the wake of it???
Surely he thought it was also greatly unjust and voiced it greatly?
Boomerang
12th March 2024, 8:28
I think Toto said once if Massa goes on with his case they will do the same regarding Abu Dhabi 2021, and their case is a much stronger one.
NM
12th March 2024, 13:07
no it isn’t, what can they do, delete the race from the standings?
doesn’t change a thing.
Craig
12th March 2024, 16:01
With AD21 the answer is to simply declare the laps that took place outside the rules (as it was 100% confirmed Masi broke his own rules) null and void, effectively ending the race a lap early. The championship was over by that stage anyway as Hamilton was comfortably ahead of Vestappen who could do nothing to catch him before Latifi crashed.
It’s not entirely without precedence to declare a lap null and void as we’ve had instance where the checkered flag was put out a lap early so they had to discount what would have been the final lap.
Going back to the Massa situation the answer remains to simply disqualify Renault from the event, which would make no difference to the championship (I think it would mean Hamilton gained a couple extra points on Massa, in fact).
The only race I can think of that could feasibly be deleted from the standings is Belgium 2021 as no racing laps actually took place, but seeing as they went ahead and ‘started’ the race it’s probably not possible.
CarWars (@maxv)
12th March 2024, 19:48
Still sour, nice
mystic one (@mysticus)
12th March 2024, 19:58
AD21 was the worst ever decision and everyone of the drivers knew it was wrong, unfair and unjust decision, beyond rule books decision that was framed around wording to justify even the grammar didnt make sense!
if mr massa seeking justice, why doesnt he bring up SPA 08 as well? which not only he inherited unfair points based on made up rules after the race, his contender was demoted 2 places! while he gained 2 extra point, his contender lost 4 making it a net 6 point loss for his contender! why doesnt he bring this up? hamilton didnt cut the corner on his own, but forced off by the consequences and by kimi doing a max by forgetting to brake and locking up, consequently pushing ham off the road, where was the give space rule? kimi was driving off corners for miles without being investigated, nor he could continue anyways all by his own faults and driving. yet ham got 25sec penalty, and rule was made up after the race! it was not in any rule book! yet max broke almost every gentleman rule (as it was the case with ham, it was unwritten aggreement, not a concrete written down one!) yet he was penalized non the less, AD21 there was a clear written rule, it was broken and justified later on with worse “legal” grammar loophole… funny before that race, it was always understood and applied perfectly…
so mr massa, and his chanters, where have you been when there was real unjustice?
Yellow Baron
13th March 2024, 4:47
@maxv you would have been content had it happened to max??
Yellow Baron
12th March 2024, 20:02
Perhaps this isn’t the only point to consider.
-Like why did masi even make the change so suddenly and abruptly?
No explanation has been given for this other than masi made a mistake. An admission btw.
-why did the FIA have him sign an NDA before firing him?
The NDA that was conveniently swept under the rug and barely mentioned by F1 media
-Therefore raising eyebrows as to what control or influence does fom or the FIA have with the media?
Especially considering they way they swayed and tried to squash it in the wake. One notable example being that Johnny Herbert was one person from sky who didn’t follow suit and go along with their line and in the end got fired.
-why also were most drivers and team bosses very quiet and pensive about what happened as if it was the perfect time to use or speak and act as if they would be happy if the same happened to them?
What does this mean about their understanding of what should and shouldnt be said or questioned.
Regarding the NDA also
-why if the FIA wants to be transparent and fair did they even have an NDA built up anyway? What is there to hide?
-why did masi (or why was masi forced) to sign an NDA when he himself made comments about not liking abuse online and hate due to his actions?
Surely clearing his name would be very important to him considering his dislike for the animosity against him, enough that he made comments about it to media.
So what so strongly kept him from speaking his side? A side we have heard absolutely completely nothing about.
These are just a few things that can and should be brought up in a case. Perhaps it was only the mercedes bosses that stopped toto going further, but as someone mentioned he himself said
I strongly believe that had max been wronged instead, but still with the same majority support from fans and drivers, the aftermath would have been very very different.
Ultimately it’s the fans that own the sport, it’s only some disunity and a lack of ability to focus any majority shared aggrievences that stops their majority stake from having any real power.
The truth eventually comes out.
MadMax (@madmax)
12th March 2024, 20:33
I also believe, that in many years from now, we will eventually know.
Masi obviously seemed to follow someones instructions. And there were many reasons for someone to want a new champion (please the orange army, increase F1 popularity, etc.).
The only other meaningful scenario I can think of would include some untraceable cryptocurrency wallet.
And no, I dont and will never accept this being called conspiracy theories, by anti-fans of Hamilton and members of the bully’s fanclub. Not as long as the truth is kept secret by Masi and the responsibles at FIA and liberty.
Yellow Baron
13th March 2024, 16:03
Yes the way it just switched.
Untraceable wallet to cover up what a betting scandal?
Yep truth has been kept secret.
F1 frog (@f1frog)
12th March 2024, 8:24
I believe Michael Schumacher has begun legal proceedings into the 1997 European Grand Prix, as now we see that the correct course of outcome for that blatant race fixing by one driver trying to take out another deliberately means that the whole race should be declared null and void. Schumacher is the rightful world champion of 1997.
Boomerang
12th March 2024, 8:31
The only problem in that case is Shumacher being the one trying to collide with another driver. I thought you’ll say 1994. and Shumacher taking out Hill, or 1989/1990 Senna Prost case.
Tifoso1989 (@tifoso1989)
12th March 2024, 9:55
US company + diversity = woke. The absence of representation based on gender or race isn’t due to discrimination by another race. It’s the hard work of men that has propelled the sport to its current status. Don’t misunderstand me, I support the inclusion of individuals from all races in the sport.
Where were these woke individuals when mechanics traveled in economy class, spending nights at airports or race tracks, working tirelessly throughout the season in hopes of better opportunities? The sport has never revolved around business class and the C-Suite; it has always been characterized by hardworking, lower-paying jobs, with teams often going bankrupt. Now, as the sport becomes a VIP club, these woke individuals have capitalized on the opportunity.
F1 should start by admitting Andretti and then they can lecture people about diversity and inclusion.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
12th March 2024, 11:03
Diversity Inclusion and Equity. has nothing to do with helping poor people understand how they are being gamed.
Sonny Crockett (@sonnycrockett)
12th March 2024, 11:06
Woke = A word used by conservatives to describe things they don’t like and/or don’t understand.
grat
12th March 2024, 16:56
Amen. It used to be “SCOILISM!!!”… er, “socialism”. Apparently that had too many syllables, so now it’s “WOKE!!!”
CarWars (@maxv)
12th March 2024, 19:49
Go woke, go broke
Yellow Baron
12th March 2024, 20:09
An another side and an ever shifting demographic more akin to a runaway train, might be understandable but really how long can that last?
As the divide gets bigger who benefits?
Tristan
12th March 2024, 22:49
They keep dividing us into factions, to fight with each other, so that we don’t fight them.
Yellow Baron
12th March 2024, 20:06
Us ownership and forward thinking and inclusive in the same sentence while blowing the hecc out of whatever country whenever, explicitly or by proxy. Really it’s a money game and they saw that the money is in appeasing an ever shifting demographic
Stephen H
12th March 2024, 9:59
The only injustice from 2008 that needs correcting is Spa.
Maimai (@maimai)
12th March 2024, 21:39
Don’t forget the even worse but less talked about penalty on Bourdais at Fuji. That swung only 1 point towards Massa but oh boy was it an awful attempt to keep the championship close.
ludewig
12th March 2024, 10:00
The Financial Times article implies that women for the most part don’t care about the racing itself, but only care about the drama around it.
Interesting that if people argue that men and women are different from a conservative perspective, this is called stereotyping or worse. But somehow it is OK if the goals of the article are acceptable to progressives, even if the underlying assumptions clearly make full ‘inclusivity’ impossible. Because if the vast majority of women are only in F1 due to the human drama and not the engineering and such, then you can’t expect an equal number of them to want to become engineers.
And if women are into the human drama, how certain can we that the drama around Horner will turn them off from F1, rather than turn them on? Do soap operas and gossip mags that appeal to the desire to see human drama and are enjoyed by many women shy away from stories similar like the Horner saga, to keep their female audience? Clearly not.
In general, there is substantial evidence that the progressive view of wat draws in and repulses women is quite wrong. See Hollywoods failed attempts to make superhero movies for women, which still draw an audience that is majority men (unlike Barbie, which is based on a very traditional female role model).
stefano (@alfa145)
12th March 2024, 11:06
I was a bit confused, and I just learnt that St. Petersburg is a city in Florida, other than the city of Russia
notagrumpyfan
12th March 2024, 12:27
I know it, but it still confuses me every time.
Same as the cities/boroughs in England adopting the same name as places in Australia.
SteveP
13th March 2024, 19:47
Priceless. Stand-up comedy awaits you.
ferrox glideh (@ferrox-glideh)
13th March 2024, 20:20
If Trump gets his way, it will be a Russian city soon enough.
CD (@clipperdael)
12th March 2024, 13:05
Ha! I’ve been thinking for a while they should go back to 110 laps at St Pete. Listen to Will! He has it figured out.
grat
12th March 2024, 13:31
Massa, if you’d scored one damned point during the British Grand Prix, not collided with DC in Australia, not spun off the track in Malaysia, not blown your engine in Hungary, or not left the pit in a flaming fireball in Singapore, or not needed the flimsiest excuse in the world to penalize a driver to win at Spa– Piquet’s actions in Singapore would have been meaningless.
Winning an F1 championship is not the result of one race– it is the result of consistent, reliable scoring of points due to opportunity and luck– and you failed. You gave away points on a regular basis, you failed to take opportunities when they arose, and you, and your team, took you out of the Singapore GP. Not Alonso, not Piquet. You.
You will get slaughtered in this case and remembered as the biggest sore loser in F1 history– even if you do win.
AlanD
13th March 2024, 0:15
Grat, good points on the lack of points. Wasn’t it the British GP where he spun seven times in one race, showing his inability to drive the car in the wet. Maybe he will ask for that race to be struck from the books too, on hearsay evidence from the man in the burger van that Bernie wanted the race to go ahead as it would spice up the TV viewing figures.
David BR (@david-br)
12th March 2024, 14:46
The only historic injustice in 2008 was Hamilton’s Spa win being taken from him and given to Massa. That race was a real test of actual driving, in the rain, and, as at Silverstone, Massa showed he simply lacked the talent to race in wet weather. He was given the extra points essentially because of the special Ferrari-FIA ‘understandings.’
At Singapore, Ferrari messed up the pit stop and Massa went off later in the race of his own accord. Were those factors down to Piquet Jr or team and driver failures? Obviously the latter. The remedy is clear in this case: the cheating driver/team gets disqualified and the rest get bumped up. After the season’s over, it’s over. There’s no precedent in F1 for cancelling an entire race and nor should there be. Piquet’s crash was like any other incident drivers and teams have to contend with. If we find that a team has been running an illegal part all season (insert team names here >>>) does that mean the entire season should be cancelled? According to Massa’s logic, yes.
pcxmac (@pcxmac)
12th March 2024, 17:44
yeah, 25 seconds I think, for racing a Ferrari in the wet who eventually spun off track. Doesn’t matter how many times i watch the last few laps, I just don’t see it.
DaveW (@dmw)
12th March 2024, 15:12
“Historic Injustice”. Where is my fainting couch.
An Sionnach
13th March 2024, 15:32
My little niece and nephew are hugely concerned with horrific injustices when they are the ones affected, too. They have many years to grow out of it, thankfully!
Pausf1fix
12th March 2024, 15:13
What a load of rubbish Massa lost that race and possibly the title when the fuel hose decided to stay connected to the car as he drove off. Come on Felipe I could have won the lottery but I didn’t enter. Ym
sam
12th March 2024, 15:22
Injustice?
That is us having to listen to this dude.
Cranberry
13th March 2024, 9:56
I look forward to the year 2037, and Dame Lewis Hamilton’s lawsuit against “whomever it may concern” regarding the Abu Dhabi 20021 Formula 1 Driver’s championship deciding, season finale.
My popcorn is already prepared.
PS.
Hamilton was robbed.
-Sincerely,
a “Anti-Loois” F1 spectator