Felipe Massa is a shameless fool

Felipe Massa and a team of lawyers are suing the FIA, claiming that the 2008 Formula One Drivers Championship should have gone to him, not to Lewis Hamilton. They believe that the results of that year’s Singapore Grand Prix should be nullified, which would take six points away from Hamilton and result in the title going to Massa.

Earlier this year, former F1 Supremo, Bernie Ecclestone, claimed that he knew back in 2008 about Renault’s number two driver, Nelson Piquet Jr., being told to purposely crash in Singapore in order to bring out a safety car and give his teammate, Fernando Alonso, the advantage over Massa. Ecclestone claimed to have covered it up in order to avoid controversy at the time, but now he says he can’t remember what he said or knew. He is 92 years old after all. The rest of the world found out about what’s known as ‘Crashgate’ in 2009 when a disgruntled Nelson Piquet Jr. spilled the beans after learning that his team would not be retaining his services for the following year. By then, according to the rule book, it was too late to overturn the results of 2008. Ecclestone’s purported brain fart, however, has seemingly opened the door for Massa’s team of lawyers to litigate. It’s not the most graceful way to win a championship, but apparently Massa really wants that trophy on his mantle.

Of course, every Formula One driver wants to win the World Title. Most do not have the tools. Most do not even come close. Felipe Massa came close once, but it was not to be. He lost out by one point to Lewis Hamilton, who was claiming his first of seven titles, in 2008. Sour grapes for Massa? Absolutely. In the final race of the season, in his home country of Brazil, Massa finished first. Unfortunately, Lewis Hamilton was ahead in the points going into the race and only needed to finish fifth or better to win the championship, regardless of where Massa finished. Hamilton delivered, passing Timo Glock on the final lap of the race and moving into fifth position. It was a bitter pill to swallow for Massa, but it made him all the more endearing to the rest of the world. This tiny little bug-eyed Brazilian man’s heart was broken and we all shared his agony. And we all moved on, or so we thought…

Massa had always blamed his missed opportunity on Timo Glock for allowing Hamilton to pass, although Glock maintains that he was on the wrong tires and didn’t allow anyone to pass. He was overtaken by a better driver who had a better tire strategy in a superior car. Such is racing. In fact, Hamilton lost the previous year’s championship by only one point. Luck often plays a major role in deciding the fates of teams and drivers. Engines blow, cars collide, tires get shredded and oh yes, sometimes drivers leave a pit stop with the fuel hose still attached. Actually, that has only happened once, and it happened to Felipe Massa in the race he thinks should be nullified.

In the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, Massa didn’t score any points, while Hamilton scored six by finishing third. Massa had been in the lead when he pitted during the safety car that Piquet’s crash triggered. In a rush to get Massa back out on track in front of Fernando Alonso, who had also pitted, Ferrari released their driver while the fuel hose was still connected. Apparently, Massa did not feel the pull on the car as the hose was ripped away from the fueling station and he dragged a member of the pit crew fifteen feet down the paddock, spraying fuel everywhere. Once the situation was rectified, Massa rejoined the race in last place and was only able to move up to thirteenth.

Back in 2008, points were only awarded to the first eight finishers, with 10 for first, 8 for second, 6 for third, 5 for fourth and so on. Winning a race was not the massive points haul that it is today. Still, if Massa had won the race, Hamilton most likely would have finished fourth and only scored five points to Massa’s ten, giving Massa a net of five extra points on Hamilton. Instead, Hamilton gained six on Massa. So, in Massa’s mind, if it were not for Singapore, he would have won the championship. One of the problems with that thinking, however, is that there were still three races left in the season. Plenty of time for Massa to prove he was the better driver, and plenty of ‘what if’s, if only’s’ and ‘shoulda, coulda woulda’s’. In fact, Singapore was only one of eighteen races.

The real problem for Massa was that his teammate was the 2007 World Champion, Kimi Raikkonen, who finished ahead of Massa in six races that year, stealing valuable points. Even though neither of their drivers won the championship, Ferrari still won the Constructor’s Championship, which is the goal for all teams. The prize money goes to the winning team, not the winning driver. So, even though Formula One doesn’t look like it, it is a team sport. If Massa needs to blame someone for the disappointment of 2008, he should blame Ferrari, most notably for the ill-fated pitstop in Singapore. If he needs to sue someone for the money he claims he lost out on in terms of bonuses and future sponsorship, maybe he should sue Alonso, Piquet, Renault or Ecclestone. Initially he claimed the loss of money as the basis for his lawsuit. When the FIA didn’t respond, he changed his tune, claiming that he only wanted justice and to be named 2008 World Champion. It will never happen. His lawyers are taking him for a ride, and he’s tarnishing his reputation as a loveable guy in the process. Felipe, if you are reading this, please re-evaluate your position and focus on being a retired driver who occasionally likes to hang out in the Ferrari garage before your VIP passes are permanently revoked.