The Brazilian is involved in a legal action over the 2008 title, citing the Singapore Grand Prix, which was won by Fernando Alonso after his teammate, Nelson Piquet Jr, deliberately crashed. The Safety Car period that followed the crash saw Massa lose out on a potential win as a result of a disastrous pit stop which subsequently dropped him to thirteenth.
Lewis Hamilton famously went on to win the title in Brazil by just one point, after passing Timo Glock in the last corner of the final lap and Massa is claiming that as the result of a “conspiracy” involving (then) F1 bosses and the FIA he was robbed of the title and along with many millions in lost earnings and bonuses.
As the case rumbles on, Massa will not be attending this weekend’s race at Interlagos, however speaking ahead of the event he warned that the time for legal prevarication is over.
Following the initial letter in August, a deadline for a response from F1 and the FIA had been set for mid-October, but the two bodies have asked for an extension to mid-November as an internal investigation is completed.
However, Massa is clearly angry at what is a second call for an extension and has warned that there will be no further deadlines.
“We are waiting for their response to see if the case will have to go to court,” he said. “Logically, there are no more requests, from now on there will be no such thing as ‘give us one more month’. That will be the limit and a decision will have to be made.”
In reaction to Mohammed ben Sulayem’s claim that he is leaving matters to the FIA’s legal team in a bid to protect the sport, Massa said: “I think the FIA should protect the sport, not protect themselves. The right thing for them to do is to think about protecting the sport, which didn’t happen 15 years ago.
The Brazilian is also hoping for support from Ferrari, the team for whom he was driving in 2008.
“I know a lot of people at Ferrari,” he said, “all the mechanics, engineers and fans are on my side. There is no reason for Ferrari not to be on my side as well. Right now that support has not yet happened but I really believe and hope I’ll get it.”
Source: Pitpass
