“Singapore GP was rigged”

Frenchman Jean Todt, a Formula 1 bigwig who was once head of Ferrari and presided over the International Automobile Federation (FIA), is certain that the 2008 Singapore GP should have been invalidated due to manipulation. This is what he said to the Italian newspaper “La Stampa”, in a statement of support for the Brazilian Felipe Massa, currently dedicated to a legal battle to be recognized as champion of the Drivers’ World Championship that season, as he was harmed by a deliberate crash by Nelsinho Piquet in the Singaporean stage.

“For him, it was very difficult psychologically. I think, perhaps, we should have been tougher when this story became known. There is no doubt that the Singapore GP was rigged and should have been cancelled,” said Todt, in a comment brief, as I said I didn’t want to talk too much about the subject.

Todt is very close to Massa. This year, during the seventh stage of Stock Car, in Goiânia, he paid a visit to the Brazilian in the Lubrax Podium pits, in August. A month earlier, Massa was at the Frenchman’s wedding to Michelle Yeoh, winner of the Oscar for Best Actress this year, for her performance in the film Tudo Em Todo Lugar At Same Time.

Even within the context of the friendship between the two, Todt’s support is important for Massa, as the manager is influential and other Formula 1 bosses have avoided getting involved in the matter. The Brazilian driver’s greatest resentment is the lack of positioning of Ferrari, currently led by Frederic Vasseur.

The dispute between Massa and F-1 and FIA goes back to the 2008 Singapore GP, one of the most controversial in the history of the sport. At the time, the Brazilian and Lewis Hamilton were fighting point by point for the title. Before that race, the Englishman led the championship by just one point.

THE 2008 STAGE

At the height of his career in Formula 1, Massa had won pole position. In the race, he led until the 14th of 61 laps. That was when Nelsinho Piquet intentionally crashed his car, as he admitted in 2019, on orders from the controversial Flavio Briatore, to benefit Fernando Alonso, his Renault teammate. The Spaniard had made a pit stop two laps earlier and had a full tank – at the time, cars were refueled during the races.

The crash caused the safety car to enter the track, which completely changed the history of the race. Alonso, who had started 15th, inherited and maintained first position until the final flag. He was the biggest beneficiary of the raid. Massa was the biggest loser because he still saw Ferrari make some mistakes in the pits. After falling to last place in the race, the Brazilian finished the race in 13th, without gaining any points. Hamilton was third and saw his advantage increase from one to seven points in the table. The title, three stages later, was defined by just one point difference.

THE MASS CLAIM

The case returned to the newspapers in March of this year. Bernie Ecclestone, head of F1 for almost 40 years, made bombshell revelations about the case in an interview with the website F1-Insider. Asked about Hamilton’s titles, the Englishman stated that he considered Michael Schumacher the only seven-time champion in the history of F1 because Hamilton would not be the moral champion of 2008, in his opinion.

Ecclestone said he considered Massa that year’s champion because of what had happened in Singapore. The Englishman revealed that he learned about Nelsinho’s intentional beating during 2008. This information is the main basis for Massa’s legal actions. The reason is that, according to FIA rules, a championship cannot have its results changed after it is finished. Therefore, Nelsinho’s confession, made only in 2009, would not be enough to change the result of that race.

In this context, Ecclestone’s statements promoted a major turnaround in the discussion. In addition to the recognition of the 2008 world title, Massa’s intention would be to seek compensation for moral damages due to the financial losses he suffered as a result of being left without the championship trophy.