Ferrari team boss Frederic Vasseur believes “it would be strange” to retrospectively award Felipe Massa the 2008 Formula 1 title.
Vasseur’s comments come as the former Ferrari driver escalated his legal challenge over the outcome of the 2008 championship last week.
Massa’s lawyers claim he was “the victim of a conspiracy committed by individuals at the highest level of F1 together with the FIA and Formula One Management”.
They also report that the former driver lost out on tens of millions of euros in lost earnings and bonuses as a result of Nelson Piquet Jr. deliberately crashing out of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
Massa lost out on vital points in his championship challenge as a result of Piquet’s crash. The 2008 championship saw Massa defeated by a single point by McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton.
“As you can imagine I don’t want to make any comment on this matter, I have a good relationship with all the stakeholders!” Vasseur commented.
“It’s quite tricky, for sure the circumstances were completely exceptional… but more generally and not about Felipe I think we are trying to push the FIA to know the result of the event at the chequered flag, and perhaps this would be strange.
“I’m not a big fan to change the result of the race 15 minutes after the chequered flag [let alone 15 years]!”
Details about ‘Crashgate’ emerged publicly the following year with Renault handed a two-year suspended ban from F1, while team boss Flavio Briatore and technical chief Pat Symonds were also disciplined for their roles in the incident.
At the time, Massa led calls for the FIA to cancel the result of the Singapore Grand Prix, however the FIA’s International Sporting Code dictated that classification from each season is set in stone once the FIA Awards ceremony is completed.
The 11-time winner began pursuing legal action earlier this year when former F1 owner Bernie Ecclestone revealed that he and former FIA president Max Mosely knew Piquet’s crash was deliberate but chose not to act.
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