"Massa is correct, without Renault cheating, he is the WDC": Fans react to the Brazilian's update on the case involving Lewis Hamilton's first title

F1 fans were left in agreement after former F1 driver Felipe Massa gave a fresh update on his lawsuit against the sport involving Lewis Hamilton's first title win in 2008. The Brazilian driver narrowly missed out on claiming his maiden title in front of his roaring fans at Interlagos after Lewis Hamilton passed Timo Glock on the final corner during the final to deny him the title that year.

However, the 44-year-old filed a lawsuit against FIA, F1’s commercial arm, Formula One Management, and former F1 owner Bernie Ecclestone after the latter claimed he was made aware of the 'Crashgate' scandal during the 2008 season.

Felipe Massa revealed that he was pursuing $82m in legal proceedings in his bid to achieve a "fair outcome" ahead of its long-awaited hearing at the High Court in London next month. Speaking with The Times, the ex-Ferrari driver talked about his reason behind the lawsuit and taking the sport to court, saying:

“Accountability is key to preventing future fraud. Those entrusted with protecting the sport directly violated their duties, and they cannot be allowed to benefit from concealing their own misconduct.

“Such conduct is unacceptable in any sphere of life, especially in a sport followed by millions, including children. We will pursue this to the very end in order to achieve a just and fair outcome — for myself, for motorsport in Brazil, and for the sport as a whole.”

F1 fans took to social media to give their reactions to Felipe Massa's comments on X, with one fan claiming:

"Massa is correct, without Renault cheating, he is the WDC."

"Hamilton should pay it .."

"That’s nothing for what he lost! 82 million don’t put his name where he belongs! @MassaFelipe19! If you are a world champion, your life changes forever! So Flavio Briatore should never be allowed to put his foot ever again at the paddock!"

"That’s quite a sum!"

But some fans disagreed with Massa's claims and reacted:

"He has no leg to stand on in this court case. He's just trying to eke out some money. I hate this sort of behavior,"

"I don't agree with the claim all these years later, but just for the fun of it - I hope the FIA pays,"

When Felipe Massa cleared Lewis Hamilton of his 2008 lawsuit claims

Former Williams F1 driver Felipe Massa previously stated that his ex-rival and seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton had nothing to do with his lawsuit claims.

Speaking with Motorsport.com in 2024, the Brazilian reflected and said:

"To be honest, this is not a fight with Lewis. Lewis has nothing to do with this fight. The fight is about what happened in the race, which was not good for the sport. The battle is that this race must be cancelled. That's the fight."

Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa continued to have a fiery rivalry on the track until they were both fighting at the top teams.

About the author

Devang is a Formula 1 and NASCAR journalist at Sportskeeda with 3500+ articles and over 5 million reads under his belt. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and has a total experience of 3.5 years.

To keep up with the sport’s developments, Devang watches every single session and comes up with unique angles for the stories, from the readers’ perspective, using his expertise in the field. He strives to report accurate, ethical and relevant data by reading information from verified sources in the field, ones that are also trusted by industry experts.

Currently, his favorite drivers on the grid are Charles Leclerc and Daniel Ricciardo; he is particularly impressed by how the two drivers rarely lose their cool and approach everything with a smile on their faces. He classifies himself as a ‘Tifosi’ and is a Charles Leclerc fan.

Devang is a sports buff and when he is away from his keyboard, he watches other sports like cricket, tennis, badminton, and football, to name a few.

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Edited by Devang Chauhan