Bernie Ecclestone responds as date for $82M lawsuit featuring Lewis Hamilton's first title battle with Felipe Massa nears

With Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa's 2008 championship title controversy entering the courtroom soon, ex-F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has reacted to the matter altogether. The 94-year-old has dismissed that it wouldn't have been possible to alter the championship standings in 2008 due to not enough evidence being available at the time.

The 2008 F1 season saw one of the most intense championship battles between two drivers taking place. Hamilton and Massa fought till the very last race of the season, where the former prevailed as he won the drivers' title by a solitary point.

But at the Singapore GP, the crashgate scandal saw the Brazilian finish outside the points after leading the race. Discontent with how the peculiar situation played out, Massa then decided to take the matter to court against the FIA, FOM, and Ecclestone.

With an $82 million lawsuit moving into the courtroom on October 28, Ecclestone shared his take on the matter, as he told The Times:

"There is no way in the world anyone could change or cancel that race. There is always something going on where someone would like to cancel it if they could. To try to persuade the president of the FIA to call a special meeting where the FIA would have to cancel the race — there were no provisions for that to happen."

“Max [Mosley] knew there was not enough evidence at the time to do anything. It only started later when young Nelson decided he wanted to say something when he found out he was not going to get a seat for the following year. Max was not saying we should cover this up but just that it was not good for the image of Formula 1."

Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa's championship battle for the 2008 drivers' crown happened 17 years ago.

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Lewis Hamilton once revealed that he didn't care about the 2008 championship saga anymore

Lewis Hamilton has not often commented on the controversy involving his first championship triumph. But when the news of Felipe Massa possibly taking the matter to court reached the paddock, the Brit was asked for his take on the matter.

The seven-time champion reflected on the issue ahead of the 2023 Singapore GP, and told the media (via The Straits Times):

"I prefer not to focus on the past. Whether it’s 15 years ago, two years ago, or three days ago, I’m only interested in the present."

Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton is continuing his journey in F1. He recently joined Ferrari on a multi-year contract with the hopes of bringing back the championship glory to Maranello.

But, this ambition has started on a bumpy start as he has not even scored a podium in the Grand Prix format and has seven race weekends to possibly acquire one in his debut season with the prancing horses.