"Just get over it" - Fans react to Felipe Massa using the word 'manipulated' to describe his 2008 F1 championship loss to Lewis Hamilton

Former F1 driver Felipe Massa recently spoke about how he feels the 2008 F1 season was manipulated and that he was the rightful world champion in 2008, not Lewis Hamilton. Hence, he has filed a lawsuit against F1 and the FIA, releasing a Letter Before Claim prior to that.

Speaking to The Athletic, the Brazilian described the 2008 F1 World Championship decision as 'manipulation'. He said:

"They really understand that it was manipulation. They really understand that it was a race, it happened...a very serious situation like corruption, like manipulation...that is not the correct thing for the sport."

However, 2008 was so long ago that the majority of the F1 fanbase is simply urging Felipe Massa to leave the incident and move on. As soon as his comments surfaced on social media platforms, many reacted to them and stated how Massa should just leave the 2008 happenings behind and get over them.

Others also discussed how if Renault were disqualified from the season due to 'crashgate' scandal at the 2008 F1 Singapore GP, Lewis Hamilton would still have won the World Championship, by even more points.

Here are some of the reactions:

"Ayo bro just get over it"

"All I can see happening is Renault are disqualified from the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix! Nico Rosberg is given the win, and Lewis Hamilton actually extends the points gap in the 2008 championship! Ferrari did release him with the fuel hose attached at the end of the day!"

"At max he will be financially compensated.....overturning of the decision is not something I think will happen"

---

Felipe Massa sends a Letter Before Claim to seek compensation for losing 2008 F1 World Championship

Former F1 driver Felipe Massa is going ahead with his protest against the happenings of the 2008 F1 season. The Brazilian will be pressing charges against F1 and the FIA, but he has initially sent a Letter Before Claim, which was from his lawyers.

According to Reuters, the letter read:

"Simply put, Mr Massa is the rightful 2008 Driver's Champion, and F1 and FIA deliberately ignored the misconduct that cheated him out of that title. Mr Massa is unable to fully quantify his losses at this stage but estimates that they are likely to exceed tens of millions of Euros. This amount does not cover the serious moral and reputational losses suffered by Mr Massa."

Only time will tell whether Massa will get compensation from F1 and the FIA or if the entire case will go to court.