"I don’t really see Ferrari far from manipulation": Felipe Massa issues latest update on the 2008 F1 Championship legal battle

Felipe Massa recently spoke about how Ferrari should support him in his legal battle against the FIA and FOM regarding the 2008 F1 World Championship.

Speaking to Motorsport Brazil, Felipe Massa stated that the championship also meant something for the Italian team. Massa was with the Prancing Horse that year he lost the championship to Hamilton. Hence, he does not see any reason why they would not support him in the legal battle.

“I don’t see why Ferrari wouldn’t be on my side … Because we lost the championship, they took the championship away from us, from me and from Ferrari,” Massa said. (via PlanetF1)

Massa said that his former team was also manipulated and stripped of a Drivers' World Championship.

“When you hear Toto Wolff talking about 2021, Ferrari would need to do the same. So, Ferrari needs to fight for the best of the team, and I don’t really see Ferrari far from manipulation, as happened to me,” he said.

Felipe Massa speculated that Ferrari has not yet dipped their toes in the lawsuit because they want to see how the legal battle unfolds. Nonetheless, the Brazilian expressed that he would go ahead with the lawsuit no matter what.

“So at this point, they haven’t really said, ‘OK, we’re together.’ I think they’re waiting to see what’s going to happen, but what I’m saying is I’m doing this for my country, I’m doing this for my fans, I’m doing this for myself, I’m doing this for my family, I’m doing this for Ferrari, I’m doing this for the fans, the most incredible F1 fans, who are the Ferrari fans,” he added.

Felipe Massa filed a lawsuit against the sport in relation to Renault's crashgate incident at the 2008 F1 Singapore GP and how the seniors of the sport already knew about it but did not take any action. This consequently allowed Lewis Hamilton to clinch his first world championship, while Massa was left title-less.

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Toto Wolff on Felipe Massa's 2008 F1 world championship case

Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff recently shared his views on Felipe Massa's lawsuit against the FIA and FOM regarding the 2008 F1 world championship. The Austrian went against the case and stated how there are so many factors that change the course of a championship battle. Hence, if these kinds of cases are opened for every championship, the sport will be in a chaotic situation.

“I don't think he has a case, to be honest. We're signing up to sporting regulations. They're very clear, you're committing to it, you are a licence holder and if everybody were to open up situations, then the sport would be in disarray. And especially when you look at the full championships, there's so many things that have an influence whether you win or lose that I don't see the case, to be honest,” Wolff said.

In Massa's case, he is particularly referencing the crashgate incident during the 2008 F1 Singapore GP, where Renault's Nelson Piquet Jr. was asked to deliberately crash so that his teammate, Fernando Alonso, could win the race. This consequently hampered Felipe Massa's chances of winning, which eventually affected the championship as a whole.