Patel Gordon-Bennett, who launched a petition after the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix to overturn the result, has revealed that they “almost forgot” they set it up.
The petition, which believes the FIA unjustly denied Lewis Hamilton the 2021 Drivers’ Championship with its controversial last lap decision, has now secured more than 100,000 signatures.
“I started the petition a few hours that evening after the race on December 12th, 2021,” Gordon-Bennett told RaceFans.
“I was in my living room watching the race on Sky Sports F1 with my family.
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“As soon as we saw the injustice, we were in shock and disbelief.
“I felt that this was a scheme to rob Mercedes and Lewis just as it was when they changed the rules to suit Red Bull’s car.
“Lewis had always been speaking out on other’s behalf – the disadvantaged, the disenfranchised and those without a voice.
“I felt it was time we spoke up to help Lewis when he was being faced with injustice.
“In addition, it was disgraceful to the sport to see how one person can change the rules in the spur of the moment to get the result they want. If this was going to be F1, I did not want to be a part of it.
“I didn’t expect many signatures and in fact I had almost forgotten about it.
“I was quite surprised when a friend from Ghana texted me a few days ago to say they saw my name in The Mirror newspaper as the person who started this petition and how it had gained 80,000 signatures.
“I have no idea what has caused an increase in the signatures recently.”
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The growing calls for Hamilton to be awarded the 2021 Drivers’ Championship come as another controversy re-emerged over the outcome of the 2008 season.
Hamilton won his first title in 2008 but Brazilian driver Felipe Massa believes he was robbed of the championship due to the “crashgate” scandal earlier in the season.
The Brazilian is believed to be looking at his legal options over that year’s season, although there’s no reason to believe that, as of now, Hamilton will lose his first championship.