Ex-Formula 1 driver Felipe Massa has fired back at former F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone, who accused the Brazilian of only taking legal action against the sport for financial reasons.
Massa is currently in the process of taking legal action against F1 and the FIA over the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, which he believes should’ve been cancelled following ‘Crashgate’.
Renault infamously instructed Nelson Piquet Jr. to crash on purpose, something which ultimately allowed team-mate Fernando Alonso to claim victory.
Remarkably, it wasn’t until a year later that the incident was revealed to the world, with Massa having questioned at the time as to why the results were cancelled due to the race having been manipulated.
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The Brazilian enquired about this because it would’ve changed the winner of the 2008 title, which was claimed by Lewis Hamilton.
If the 2008 Singapore GP results were cancelled, then Massa would’ve become World Champion.
However, the former Ferrari driver was informed that nothing could be done due to the FIA prize giving ceremony having already taken place.
Nothing else on the matter was discussed until recently, after Ecclestone reportedly said that himself and former FIA president Max Mosley knew about Renault’s cheating before the end of the 2008 season.
This has since led to Massa hiring a team of lawyers, who are once again pursuing for the results to be overturned.
Massa’s lawyers have called upon the help and support of Ferrari and Hamilton, whilst Ecclestone has insisted that Massa’s case is “all about money”.
The 2008 Vice Champion has now responded to Ecclesotne’s comments and has questioned whether the former F1 supremo is “afraid” of what could “come to light with the lawsuits”.
Massa has denied that he’s taking legal action for financial reasons, with his purpose being to claim the championship trophy.
“Ecclestone only decided to say something after he saw the seriousness of our case and that we will not accept this stain on the sport,” Massa told Brazil’s edition of Motorsport.com.
“He is probably afraid of everything that will come to light with the lawsuits. It doesn’t matter. As we have said several times, our objective is the trophy.
“We continue our battle for justice in sport.”
Even Hamilton has now spoken on the matter ahead of this weekend’s Singapore GP, which comes 15 years on from ‘Crashgate’.
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The Mercedes driver hasn’t got an issue with Massa wanting to pursue legal action, although he’s personally only “focused” on the present.
“If that’s the direction Felipe wants to go in, that’s his decision, but I prefer not to focus on the past,” Hamilton said, as reported by The Telegraph.
“Whether it’s 15 years ago, two years ago, three days ago, I’m just interested in the present and focused on helping my team this week.”