Fred Vasseur, the Ferrari team principal, has offered fresh insight into his team’s perspective on Felipe Massa’s lawsuit against F1 and the FIA.
The 42-year-old launched legal proceedings against these two organisations after new information about the ‘Crashgate’ scandal of 2008 surfaced.
‘Crashgate’ occurred at the 2008 Singapore GP, when Renault F1 driver Nelson Piquet Jr. deliberately crashed his car to aid teammate Fernando Alonso.
Alonso went on to win this Grand Prix, costing Massa priceless points in his championship bid against Lewis Hamilton.
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The then-McLaren racer won his first championship by only a single point in 2008.
Recent comments have surfaced from Bernie Ecclestone, former F1 CEO, which indicate both he and Max Mosely knew about Renault’s malicious intentions.
However, they chose not to start an investigation until 2009 – to avoid a scandal.
Massa’s legal team stated in his Letter Before Claim (LBC) to the courts: “Simply put, Mr Massa is the rightful 2008 Driver’s Champion.
“F1 and FIA deliberately ignored the misconduct that cheated him out of that title.”
Massa is pursuing financial remuneration from both the FIA and F1, 15 years after Crashgate happened.
Massa’s LBC reads: “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.”
It is highly unlikely that Lewis Hamilton’s 2008 championship will be stripped from him.
Under the FIA handbook, once the winning driver has been given the trophy, the result is “set in stone,” and can not be changed.
Vasseur said: “I don’t want to make any comment on this matter.
“I have a good relationship with all parties involved.
“It is a complex affair, the circumstances are quite exceptional.
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“I can say that personally, I am not a big fan of revisions, even if it is a matter of changing the results 15 minutes after the race.”
Vasseur has other important matters to focus on.
The Frenchman is looking to wrap up contract negotiations with both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz.