Lewis Hamilton would be “willing to reclaim” Max Verstappen’s Abu Dhabi 2021 F1 title by losing the 2008 crown to Felipe Massa - Peter Windsor

F1 journalist Peter Windsor suggested that Lewis Hamilton would be willing to give up his 2008 F1 world title to Felipe Massa if he had the chance to take the 2021 title from Max Verstappen.

It was well over two seasons ago when Lewis Hamilton lost the 2021 F1 Abu Dhabi GP on the final lap against Max Verstappen. The latter was crowned world champion and Hamilton lost the chance to win a record-breaking eighth title.

The race was only continued on the final lap after a late safety car and in a controversial decision, all the lapped cars exclusively between Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton were asked to pass. While the former did win the race, criticism arose against it.

Similar to that, an incident occurred during the 2008 F1 season when Felipe Massa lost his world championship to Lewis Hamilton in the final race. Massa has been trying to find legal ways 15 years later to win that title back.

Reacting to the situation, Peter Windsor stated in his YouTube video that Hamilton would be willing to give his 2008 title to Massa if he wins the 2021 season. He said:

"In my opinion, the final lap in Abu Dhabi 2021 shouldn’t have counted. Lewis should have won that race and become world champion."

"Deep down, if you were to ask Lewis Hamilton to lose his 2008 title to give it to Felipe Massa, and reclaim the 2021 championship, I think he would be willing to do it."

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What is 'crashgate'? The basis on which Felipe Massa is challenging Lewis Hamilton's 2008 F1 title

Felipe Massa was declared the world champion of the 2008 F1 season after he won the final race in Brazil. Within a matter of seconds, however, Lewis Hamilton made one final overtake which gave him a point's lead over Massa and he was declared world champion.

While there was no controversy in this race, the decisions made regarding races earlier during the season are the basis of Massa's challenge for Hamilton's 2008 title.

During the Singapore GP that season, Fernando Alonso pitted surprisingly early in the race, and within a few laps, his teammate Nelson Piquet Jr crashed, triggering a safety car. While all the other drivers pitted, Alonso stayed out which helped him win the race. A year later, it was reported and further revealed that Renault had ordered Piquet to crash so that Alonso could win the race.

Felipe Massa mentioned that when it was revealed that this was an unfair means to win a race, the result of the particular Grand Prix should be canceled. If it happened, Hamilton would lose six points from that year's championship, giving Massa (who finished the race out of points) just enough margin to be declared world champion.