As the legal battle intensifies over Felipe Massa’s bid to claim the 2008 Formula 1 World Championship, Helmut Marko, Red Bull advisor, took the opportunity to share his thoughts on the controversy surrounding the Singapore Grand Prix of that year.
Marko’s comments came in the wake of Massa’s legal proceedings against the outcome of the race that saw Lewis Hamilton win his first title.
Felipe Massa, who finished as the runner-up in the 2008 championship, has initiated legal action in the UK High Court, challenging the result of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
This race, marked by the infamous ‘Crashgate’ incident involving Renault’s Nelson Piquet Jr., played a pivotal role in determining the championship outcome.
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Speaking with Austrian publication Kronen Zeitung, Helmut Marko discussed the events of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
He remarked on the suspicious timing of Fernando Alonso’s pit stop during the race, saying, “Even the choice of lap for the stop was suspect.”
Alonso, driving for Renault, benefited from Piquet’s orchestrated crash due to the timing of the Safety Car deployment.
Marko continued, “Afterwards, it was an open secret. I just wondered why it took so long for this affair to be uncovered.”
Although the conspiracy to manipulate the race result became public knowledge in 2009 following Renault’s dismissal of Piquet, it was only earlier this year that former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone revealed that the FIA and FOM had prior knowledge of Renault’s actions before the end of 2008.
Marko acknowledged the potential impact of these revelations on Massa’s legal challenge: “If there are new facts, the matter can be reopened.
“And then the chances for Massa are not so bad.
“The only question is, where would we end up if we had to re-evaluate many other races where there have also been incidents?”
READ: Carlos Sainz warns Ferrari fans ahead of 2023 Singapore GP
In a subtle jab at Lewis Hamilton, Marko mentioned the recent controversy surrounding Hamilton’s refusal to congratulate Max Verstappen on achieving a record-breaking 10 consecutive race wins.
He stated, “It was terrible to see Massa celebrating winning the title in Brazil for 20 seconds, and then suddenly it was all gone.
“I would like him to win the title – and Mr. Hamilton – for whom records are not so important – would then have one less…”