Glock warns Massa 2008 F1 title legal battle ‘risks opening the floodgates’
Massa has started legal action against F1 and governing body the FIA as part of a fight to be declared 2008 world champion instead of Lewis Hamilton, who he lost the title to by one point.
The former Ferrari driver’s legal representation has argued that the Singapore Grand Prix result should be annulled due to the so-called ‘Crashgate’ scandal.
Massa had been leading the race until Nelson Piquet Jr deliberately crashed, bringing out a Safety Car that helped Renault teammate Fernando Alonso win the race.
If the Singapore result was declared null and void, Massa would be crowned champion, not Hamilton.
But such an outcome would be bad for the sport, according to Glock, who became an unwilling protagonist in the closing stages of that year’s dramatic season finale in Brazil.
''We could risk opening the floodgates to every driver who thinks they've been treated unfairly,” ex-Toyota driver-turned pundit Glock told LuckyBlock.com.
“We need to see what happens between Felipe and the courts. If it works out, I don't think it's the greatest thing for the sport. You could argue that every football game could follow! It's the same with tennis or any other sport. I don't know if that would be the right call.
“It was also 15 years ago, and people could question why this is happening so late. I respect Felipe a lot and he knows what he's doing. We need to see how it plays out.”
F1’s regulations state that the season’s results are final once the world championship trophy is handed out at the FIA’s end-of-season prize-giving gala.
In September, Toto Wolff said Mercedes are following Massa’s legal case “with interest”.
Wolff claimed the outcome would “set a precedent” that could also change the 2021 title result, in which Hamilton controversially missed out on the crown to Max Verstappen.
At the time, Mercedes opted not to appeal the result of the 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
