 Lawyers aiming to strip Sir Lewis Hamilton of his 2008 Formula One title have bizarrely asked the British sporting legend for help in order to do so. Former Ferrari driver Felipe Massa is taking legal action against F1 bosses and seeking compensation after it emerged that he may have been robbed of the 2008 championship, which he lost by one point to Hamilton. The controversy surrounds the infamous 2008 Singapore Grand Prix which was won by Fernando Alonso, with Hamilton finishing third and Massa 13th and out of the points. A year later it was revealed that Renault had ordered Alonso's teammate Nelson Piquet Jr. to crash on purpose to bring out the safety car, which strategically helped the Spaniard to victory and ruined Massa's race. Back in March, former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone claimed in an interview that he and then-FIA president Max Mosley knew about 'crashgate' at the time but decided not to act in order to 'protect the sport from a huge scandal'. He said that they had spoken up they would have cancelled the results from the race and that would have made Massa champion, however the 92-year-old has since said he does not even remember giving the aforementioned interview. Nevertheless, Massa began legal action last month, with his lawyers firmly stating that the Brazilian 'was the victim of a conspiracy' and 'is the rightful 2008 Driver's Champion'. Felipe Massa lost the 2008 title to Hamilton by just one point (Photo: Getty) As well as financial compensation it seems that the 42-year-old wants Hamilton's title and his lawyers have now now said they are counting on the seven-time champion to help their cause. 'He [Hamilton] is an important ambassador for the sport and has always defended sporting integrity,' Bernardo Viana, a partner at law firm Vieira Rezende Advogados, told Reuters. 'He is an honorary Brazilian citizen and very well liked by Brazilians, so I hope he wi){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Lawyers aiming to strip Sir Lewis Hamilton of his 2008 Formula One title have bizarrely asked the British sporting legend for help in order to do so.
Former Ferrari driver Felipe Massa is taking legal action against F1 bosses and seeking compensation after it emerged that he may have been robbed of the 2008 championship, which he lost by one point to Hamilton.
The controversy surrounds the infamous 2008 Singapore Grand Prix which was won by Fernando Alonso, with Hamilton finishing third and Massa 13th and out of the points.
A year later it was revealed that Renault had ordered Alonso’s teammate Nelson Piquet Jr. to crash on purpose to bring out the safety car, which strategically helped the Spaniard to victory and ruined Massa’s race.