LONDON – Former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has commented after 15 years on the controversial end of the 2008 season, at the end of which Lewis Hamilton became world champion for the first time. Ecclestone is convinced that he won the title wrongly and that it should have been held by Felipe Massa.
The situation during the 2008 season was very tense. Everything was started by the Crashgate case, and Ecclestone and the then head of the FIA, Max Mosley, allegedly knew that it was a fraud.
“Piquet junior told his father, Nelson, that the team had asked him to deliberately crash into the wall at one point to cause the safety car to come out and help his team-mate Fernando Alonso.” returned Ecclestone back to the Singapore Grand Prix.
They preferred to prevent a scandal
Ecclestone regrets that the management did not intervene at the time and included the results of the VC Singapore: “At that time we decided not to do anything. We wanted to protect the sport and save it from a huge scandal. But we had enough information to investigate the whole matter,” he admitted to the website Insider.com.
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Source: SITA
“According to the statutes, however, under these conditions, we would have to cancel the race in Singapore. This would mean that the results from Singapore would not be included in the championship. Felipe Massa and not Lewis Hamilton would then become the world champion.” stated Ecclestone, who at the same time recognizes only one 7-time world champion. Michael Schumacher.
Schumacher’s record was not matched
Today, the 92-year-old Brit admits that he feels sorry for Felipe Massa, who never became world champion: “AshI still feel sorry for Massa today. He won the final race at home in Sao Paulo, he did everything right. He was up for the title he deserved, while Hamilton had all the luck in the world to win his first championship.” admitted who for him is the real world champion of 2008.
Hamilton became the official champion for the first time this season and later managed to win the title six more times, equaling the record of the phenomenal Michael Schumacher. “Today, I would have handled it differently. That’s why Michael Schumacher is the only seven-time world champion for me – even if the statistics say otherwise.” added Ecclestone.
- Author: © List
- Source: sneakers, Insider.com
