Max Verstappen’s 2021 F1 title is at risk as Mercedes boss Toto Wolff is given new legal hope over Lewis Hamilton’s Abu Dhabi agony… after Felipe Massa opened legal proceedings over 2008 ‘Crashgate’ scandal
- Verstappen beat Hamilton to the world title on the last lap of the 2021 season
- The call has arisen after Felipe Massa opened legal proceedings over 2008 title
- Massa claims he was robbed of the title by the so-called ‘Crashgate’ scandal
Toto Wolff has said there could yet be grounds for Mercedes to challenge Max Verstappen’s controversial title win over Lewis Hamilton in 2021.
That possibility has come to the fore after Felipe Massa opened legal proceedings over the 2008 world championship, which he claims he was robbed of by the so-called ‘Crashgate’ scandal in the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix here 15 years ago.
London lawyers acting for Massa believe the result should be scrubbed because, as has long been established, Renault ordered Nelsinho Piquet to crash to bring out the safety car, changing the course of the race so team-mate Fernando Alonso could win.
More specifically, they point to apparent new evidence that F1 bosses and the governing FIA knew about the skulduggery and chose not to act until the next year.
Wolff said: ‘It is interesting to follow. It is not something that anybody saw coming because the rules are pretty clear in F1.
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff (pictured) has said there could be grounds for Mercedes to challenge Max Verstappen’s controversial 2021 title win
Mex Vertsappen (right) won the title on the last lap of the last race of the season, overtaking Lewis Hamilton (left)
The call has arisen after Felipe Massa (right) opened legal proceedings over the 2008 title
‘But it will set a precedent — whatever it is — and we’re looking from the sidelines with curiosity.’ If Massa gets his day in a London courtroom — a long shot — and wins, it would open a Pandora’s box for global sport, including F1’s 2021 finale.
Race director Michael Masi freelanced the safety-car rules and Verstappen, advantaged by fresh tyres, seized the chance to pass Hamilton on the last lap.
The FIA later admitted ‘human error’ was to blame, but it was too late to overturn the result.
On track yesterday, Carlos Sainz led the two Ferraris at the top. George Russell was third best for Mercedes, Fernando Alonso fourth for Aston Martin and Hamilton fifth. ‘Ferrari are fast and we are way worse than we expected,’ said Verstappen, who was seven-tenths back.
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