Felipe Massa says he expects and hopes for Ferrari to support his
on-going legal action over the 2008 World Championship. Massa is
currently pursuing avenues to try and overturn the result of the
title he lost to Lewis Hamilton by one point after comments from
then-F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone suggested he knew the Singapore Grand
Prix had been fixed by Renault during the season, but that he
elected not to take any action. The Brazilian’s legal team is
awaiting documents from the FIA and Formula 1, with a final
deadline for them to be handed over being extended to November
15th, with the 11-time Grand Prix winner not interested in any
financial settlement. Massa’s Ferrari team has thus far been quiet
over the case, with Hamilton also not taking an interest, but Massa
believes Ferrari will lend its support to his case as it also lost
a championship – which would be its 16th Drivers’ crown. Massa
expects Ferrari support “I am still expecting to be together and
have support, because at the end, we lost the championship
together,” Massa exclusively tells RacingNews365 on the 15th
anniversary of the race in Brazil. “I love Ferrari, it is part of
my heart and I am definitely a big Ferrari fan and will be all my
life for everything [that happened] during my time with the team,
with the fans, the opportunities and the dreams that I had. “So I
definitely expect it to be on my side, because we lost the
championship together through the manipulation that happened.
“Anytime that you hear about Toto Wolff talking about 2021, he is
the most supportive person, so with that, I cannot really believe
that Ferrari won’t be on that situation with me. “For the moment,
they are quiet, but I really believe they will be on my side, and I
really hope that is the case because that is the correct thing for
what happened to us. “What happened to me, happened to Ferrari as
well.” Article continues below. Support in Brazil In 2008, Massa
lost out on the chance to become the fourth Brazilian to claim the
title after Emerson Fittipaldi, Nelson Piquet and Ayrton Senna –
whose last crown came in 1991. When asked how his case has been
received by the Brazilian public, Massa detailed how he is often
stopped in the street by people offering their support. “The
reaction is very, very supportive,” he says. “Everywhere I go, in
the airport, the supermarket, the restaurant, people stop me to say
that they are on my side and that I need to fight because what
happened to you is not part of the sport and that I am the
champion. “I have amazing support from different people in the
country, but not even just Brazil, sometimes in the United States,
I have support and Europe as well. “Many people in the racing
world, you can sometimes see they are a bit afraid to express their
support for me, but there are many who back me, even inside
motorsport, so I am not doing it alone. “I’m doing it for my
country because Brazil lost out by not being recognised as a
champion. That could have been amazing to help motorsport grow –
and we don’t have a Brazilian driver in Formula 1 at the moment.
“It could have been different, looking at what Senna did for other
Brazilians. I am not comparing myself with Senna, but we know how
important that championship would have been for the country.”
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