F1 News: Massa to keep fighting after Crashgate breakthrough

(GMM) Felipe Massa (pictured) says he will continue his fight to be recognized as 2008 world champion despite securing an initial legal breakthrough in the long-running ‘Crashgate’ case.

A court recently ordered FOM, the FIA and Bernie Ecclestone to cover part of the Brazilian’s legal costs – but Massa insists the case is about far more than money.

“My fight is to be recognized as a champion,” he told Diario Sport. “Because what happened to me isn’t fair in any sport.”

Massa lost the 2008 title to Lewis Hamilton by a single point, with the outcome heavily influenced by the manipulated Singapore GP.

“We knew the race was rigged, but we found out in 2009 and we had no way to appeal,” he said.

“Once a driver receives the trophy and the year changes, the result cannot be changed – except in cases of doping.”

However, Massa points to later comments by former F1 supremo Ecclestone, who admitted key figures knew about the scandal during the 2008 season but chose not to act.

“They knew that year the race was rigged and they deliberately didn’t launch an investigation,” Massa said.

“Because of that, they didn’t give me the opportunity to fight for my championship.”

The former Ferrari driver drew a clear distinction between sporting defeat and what he sees as injustice.

“Sport is sport,” he said. “If your car breaks down, it’s sport. If you lose by one point, that’s sport.

“But what happened in Singapore isn’t sport.”

Massa says he remains confident the reopened case will ultimately go further.

“I believe in justice,” he said. “In this matter, we have to win.”

The 44-year-old admitted the case has now become his main priority. “Now I’m only thinking about justice for 2008,” Massa said.

Editor’s Note: If the court rules that Felipe Massa was the real 2008 F1 champion, it could only mean the court will order the FIA to strip Lewis Hamilton of his 2008 title.