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Felipe Massa lost the 2008 championship by one point. To Lewis Hamilton. Now, seventeen years later, he takes the sport to court. $82 million claim. But it's about more than money. It's about the question: can history be rewritten?
The scandal that didn't disappear
Singapore GP 2008. Nelson Piquet Jr. crashed intentionally at turn 17. Safety car. Perfectly timed for teammate Fernando Alonso to win. The strategy worked.
Felipe Massa Faces Moment of Truth: Former Ferrari Driver Takes F1 to Court
For Massa it was disastrous. He led comfortably. Until disastrous pit stop where his team accidentally released him with fuel hose still attached. Blunder threw him out of race. Cost crucial points.
Hamilton eventually won the title. By one point difference.
Core of Massa's claim:
● Intentional crash influenced his race directly
● Safety car caused pit stop chaos at Ferrari
● FIA knew of manipulation, took no action
● Ecclestone admitted in 2023: he and Mosley knew about it
● By that time Hamilton was already champion
● Institutional failure to ensure sporting integrity
This week in London
The lawsuit starts this week at Royal Courts of Justice. Massa's legal team argues that key figures were aware. But deliberately hid the scandal to protect sport's reputation.
Bernie Ecclestone made remarkable confession in 2023. Both he and then-FIA president Max Mosley knew that Renault had manipulated the outcome. Despite that knowledge, no action was taken until next year.
The stakes are enormous. Not just financial compensation. But recognition of Massa as rightful 2008 world champion. That touches integrity of sport and validity of historical results.
The precedent nobody wants
This lawsuit is existential threat to how F1 manages history. The sport always operated under principle: result on day of race is definitive. Unless intervened immediately after race.
Successful claim by Massa creates dangerous precedent. Countless other controversial race results from past could possibly be legally challenged again.
What does this mean for Hamilton's first world title? How does FIA respond to judicial order that undermines own regulations from past? This touches core of governing body's authority.
More than legal dispute
Felipe Massa's story is one of near-success and heartbreaking loss. His fight for justice, years after facts, is powerful personal drama.
Lone fighter against powerful system. That emotional component makes story universally appealing. Not just for F1 fans. For everyone who believes in justice.
Judge Sir Robert Jay decides whether case proceeds to full trial. Or is dismissed altogether. Decision expected Friday.
If case is dismissed, Massa's 17-year quest ends definitively. If it proceeds, possibly biggest legal battle F1 ever saw awaits.
F1 holds its breath. Because this isn't just about $82 million. It's about the question whether past can be rewritten. And whether sport history is definitive.
The ghost of Crashgate is back. And this time it comes with lawyers.
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