While Lewis Hamilton is chasing a record-breaking eighth Formula 1 world championship, Felipe Massa could make things more difficult for the Mercedes driver.
He has partnered with lawyers to contest a 15 year old result where Hamilton pipped Massa to the 2008 F1 crown.
Massa, now retired, feels the FIA and Formula One Management failed to act on knowledge they had about the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix which left the championship’s reputation damaged.
The race proved to have an influential outcome on that year’s title, which was Hamilton’s first in F1, and Massa’s only genuine shot at a world championship in his career.
All eyes at the start of the season were on young hotshot Hamilton, then 23, after driving a legendary rookie campaign in 2007.
The McLaren driver led the championship during the year, but lost it in the final two races. First, Hamilton retired in China after beaching his car in the gravel as he struggled with worn out tyres on a day he could have clinched the title.
Next, he finished seventh in Brazil at the season finale, after a poor opening lap dropped him from second to eighth, which opened the door to his rivals. Kimi Raikkonen was the one to pounce, as the Ferrari driver won both of those grands prix to clinch the title by one point with Hamilton and Fernando Alonso on the same tally in second and third.
So, in 2008 it was up to Hamilton to bounce back and seal the championship. After a very strong performance in pre-season testing, there was a feeling that he would be fighting for the title again. That became more evident when Hamilton won the season opening Australian Grand Prix.
But the next four races proved it was not going to be so easy. Ferrari won all four, with reigning champion Raikkonen and Massa winning two apiece, while Hamilton stood on the podium just twice.
Source: Autosport