Alarm bells for Lewis Hamilton as Felipe Massa’s team start legal proceedings against FIA, claiming "Mr. Massa is the rightful 2008 Driver's Champion"

Lewis Hamilton could be in for some trouble as Felipe Massa's team have started legal proceedings against the FIA with regard to the 2008 season - the year that Hamilton won his maiden world championship.

Attorneys for former Formula 1 driver Massa have filed the first lawsuit against Formula 1 and the FIA for the 2008 World Championship. The Singapore Grand Prix is where 'cheating' allegedly occurred, costing Massa, who is now asking for significant compensation.

Massa's intention to act after losing the 2008 championship has been known for a long time. At first, it seemed that the Brazilian was trying to supplant Lewis Hamilton as the 2008 world champion. But according to Reuters, the topic has now changed to compensation.

Reports suggest that the former F1 driver has hired attorneys from France, Britain, the United States, Brazil and Switzerland to fight his case.

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According to Reuters, a 'Letter Before Claim' was sent on Tuesday this week and was addressed to F1 head Stefano Domenicali (who at the time was Massa's Ferrari team boss) and FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem. The letter states:

"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."

Instead of attempting to reverse any race or championship outcomes, it seems that the focus is on getting paid for the revenues lost as a result of Massa failing to win that year's championship.

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How did Felipe Massa lose his 2008 championship to Lewis Hamilton?

Felipe Massa would have been Ferrari's most recent Formula 1 world champion if the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix had not been allegedly tampered with.

Massa was denied a lead in the Singapore race, which he could well have won. In retrospect, it could have cost him the championship too; Lewis Hamilton, driving for McLaren at the time, ended up winning his maiden world title that year.

When Nelson Piquet Jr. crashed during the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, allegedly on purpose, Massa was in the lead. Alonso was able to win the race eventually thanks to the safety car period that was brought about.

Massa was released from the pits with the fuel hose still attached, which was a mistake by Ferrari during that safety car period. He received a penalty for an unsafe release as a result, dropping him to 13th.

Lewis Hamilton of McLaren, who came in second to Alonso in Singapore, ultimately defeated Massa for the 2008 championship by just one point.

After the incident was uncovered the following year, Renault was suspended from F1, and team bosses Flavio Briatore and Pat Symonds were both banned from participating in motorsports for five years.