F1 LIVE: Lewis Hamilton’s 2008 title in spotlight after shock new remarks
Felipe Massa has sensationally revealed he is looking into legal options to overturn the result of the 2008 Formula 1 World Championship – won by Lewis Hamilton.
The Brazilian driver, then racing for Ferrari, missed out on that year’s title by a single point in dramatic circumstances at the final race in Brazil as Hamilton – then driving for McLaren - claimed the point he needed on the final lap in wet conditions.
Yet new remarks, by former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, on that year’s infamous ‘Crashgate’ scandal in Singapore has encouraged Massa to assess all his potential options as to whether the Championship result could be overturned, 15 years on. Massa, now 41, stated: “I intend to study the situation, study what the laws say and the rules. We have to have an idea of what is possible to do.”
Elsewhere, a British F1 fan tells of how he was hit by a piece of car debris at the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne, Verstappen insists the rules were not followed when Lewis Hamilton overtook him on lap one and Ferrari driver Carlos Sainz was raging with the stewards after a five-second penalty saw him miss out on points.
Follow all the latest F1 news and reaction after the Australian GP
F1 LATEST NEWS AND UPDATES
NEW: Michael Schumacher update as former Ferrari boss states: ‘That accident had consequences’
Lewis Hamilton’s first F1 title under threat as Felipe Massa assesses legal options
‘They are holding back’: George Russell claims Red Bull can go even faster
COMMENT: Chaotic Australian Grand Prix reveals the dilemma at the heart of F1’s future
British fan at Australian GP left bleeding after cut to arm from car debris
Michael Schumacher update as former Ferrari boss states: ‘That accident had consequences’
12:22 , Kieran Jackson
Jean Todt has reiterated calls for privacy for Michael Schumacher and his family as he continues his ongoing recovery from a skiing accident.
The seven-time Formula 1 world champion has not been seen publicly since suffering a near-fatal brain injury while skiing in December 2013 in Meribel, France.
His wife Corinna has insisted on protecting Schumacher’s privacy in the nine years since, with his medical condition shrouded in secrecy as he continues to recover at home in Switzerland.
Former Ferrari boss Todt has a close relationship with the Schumacher family, revealing last year he has seen the German three times a week on some occasions and insisting the 54-year-old is in the “best of hands… surrounded by people who love him.”
Now, speaking to Italian outlet Corriere della Sera, Todt dismissed the notion that various people know about Schumacher’s health and called for people to respect the family’s privacy.
More below:
Michael Schumacher update as ex-Ferrari boss states: ‘That accident had consequences’
Max Verstappen scathing of F1 rules after Lewis Hamilton overtake
11:59 , Kieran Jackson
Having lost first place to George Russell at the start of Sunday’s chaotic and entertaining race in Melbourne, Verstappen then dropped to third after Hamilton bolted down the inside of the Red Bull at turn 3 at Albert Park.
Verstappen was quick to express his unhappiness with the move over team radio, insisting he was “ahead at the apex” and the Brit “pushed him off track.”
The Dutchman eventually propelled past Hamilton anyhow, and took the chequered flag in first place despite a hectic finale, but still voiced his displeasure at the incident after the race.
“From my side, I just tried to avoid contact,” he said. “It’s quite clear in the rules what you’re allowed to do on the outside, but clearly it’s not followed.”
Seven-time world champion Hamilton, who finished second for Mercedes’ first podium of the season, unsurprisingly disagreed with Verstappen’s assessment of the incident.
“I thought [the move] was pretty decent,” Hamilton told the media in Melbourne afterwards.
“He braked early and I braked late and I was fully up the inside and I think we both left space for each other. I didn’t run him off the road and he didn’t turn in on me. So we didn’t touch and that’s racing.”
Max Verstappen scathing of F1 rules after Lewis Hamilton overtake
Lewis Hamilton’s first F1 title under threat as Felipe Massa assesses legal options
11:25 , Kieran Jackson
Felipe Massa has sensationally revealed he is looking into legal options to overturn the result of the 2008 Formula 1 World Championship – won by Lewis Hamilton.
The Brazilian driver, then racing for Ferrari, missed out on that year’s title by a single point in dramatic circumstances at the final race in Brazil as Hamilton – then driving for McLaren - claimed the point he needed on the final lap in wet conditions.
Yet new remarks, by former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, on that year’s infamous ‘Crashgate’ scandal in Singapore has encouraged Massa to assess all his potential options as to whether the Championship result could be overturned, 15 years on.
Massa, now 41, stated: “I intend to study the situation, study what the laws say and the rules. We have to have an idea of what is possible to do.”
More detail below:
Lewis Hamilton’s first F1 title under threat as Felipe Massa assesses legal options
Toto Wolff insists clarity is needed from F1 and the FIA after Australian GP confusion
11:08 , Kieran Jackson
The Mercedes team principal, speaking after the chaotic race in Melbourne, insists clear reasoning from race control must be published for each race-changing decision.
“Both red flags we didn’t see coming,” he said. “Restarts are a great entertainment factor, but we need to understand going forward when a red flag is being put out and when it is a safety car or a VSC. For those incidents you could have applied either.
“Formula One is so successful because it is sport and we follow the rulebook and that gives great entertainment, as long as it is clear how it is being interpreted. Whether you call a VSC or a safety car or you red-flag it, as long as we understand in terms of us being able to plan and in having the same rules for everyone, then that is OK.”
“We just need to define what it is,” said Wolff. “Restarts are mega, but when they come as a surprise and you can’t really understand, then maybe not so much. I am generally in favour of making great entertainment, but the rulebook of the sport is the key DNA so let us define together what is a safety car, what is a VSC and what is a red flag.”
Timeline of chaos: How the Australian Grand Prix unfolded
10:57 , Kieran Jackson
Three red flags, eight DNFs and a bizarre finish to one of the most extraordinary races in Formula One history. Here is how the Australian Grand Prix unfolded.
The grid
Max Verstappen starts on pole ahead of the Mercedes duo George Russell and Lewis Hamilton. Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso starts fourth, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz sixth, and their teammates Lance Stroll and Charles Leclerc are seventh and eighth. Verstappen’s Red Bull teammate Sergio Perez starts from the pitlane after engine troubles in qualifying.
Lap 1/58: Mercedes burst past Verstappen as Leclerc crashes out
George Russell takes the lead, taking Max Verstappen down the inside into turn 1, and then Lewis Hamilton does the same down into turn 4. But Charles Leclerc is taken out of the race by Lance Stroll! The safety car emerges. Verstappen complains over team radio that Hamilton “pushed him off the track” but there is no investigation into the incident.
Lap 7/58: Albon crashes out of the race — red flag ð©
Alex Albon is going along nicely in sixth when he loses control and crashes out. Another safety car needed.
Russell pits as Hamilton stays out and leads, though the seven-time world champion is not happy. “This has put me at a massive disadvantage,” Hamilton tells his team. But he’s wrong as the red flag comes out due to gravel on the track, suspending the race and sending everyone to the garage where they can change their tyres, and it means Russell has slid back to first to seventh for no good reason. The race restarts from the grid and Hamilton maintains the lead.
P1-10: Hamilton, Verstappen, Alonso, Stroll, Gasly, Hulkenberg, Russell, Tsunoda, Norris, Piastri.
Timeline of chaos: How the Australian Grand Prix unfolded
More on Massa looking at 2008 title options:
10:42 , Kieran Jackson
Ecclestone revealed last month that both he and then-FIA president Max Mosley knew of the Crashgate scandal in 2008, but refused to publicise the chain of events to avoid the sport a “huge scandal.”
“We decided not to do anything for now,” Ecclestone told F1-Insider. “We wanted to protect the sport and save it from a huge scandal. That’s why I used angelic tongues to persuade my former driver Nelson Piquet to keep calm for the time being.
Crashgate was a scandal which rocked Formula 1 in 2008
“Back then, there was a rule that a world championship classification after the FIA ââawards ceremony at the end of the year was untouchable. So Hamilton was presented with the trophy and everything was fine.
“We had enough information in time to investigate the matter. According to the statutes, we should have cancelled the race in Singapore under these conditions.
“That means it would never have happened for the championship standings. And then Felipe Massa would have become world champion and not Lewis Hamilton.”
Upon hearing this new information come to light, Massa said he will look into his – albeit slim – legal options, noting the example of Lance Armstrong’s doping revelations and the stripping of his Tour de France victories.
Lewis Hamilton’s first F1 title under threat as Felipe Massa assesses legal options
Fan at Australian GP left bleeding after cut to arm from car debris
10:30 , Kieran Jackson
A spectator at Formula 1’s Australian Grand Prix suffered a cut to his arm when struck by a piece of debris from Kevin Magnussen’s car, putting the spotlight on organisers’ safety protocols.
The spotlight is on the safety protocols of organisers at Albert Park after fans spilled onto the track before the race, won by Max Verstappen, concluded on Sunday night.
But spectator Will Sweet, 31, said he was fortunate to avoid a “horrendous” injury and called on Formula One and its governing body, the FIA, to make sure it does not happen again.
More below:
British fan at Australian Grand Prix left bleeding after cut to arm from car debris
Here’s the updated driver standings after the Australian Grand Prix!
10:15 , Kieran Jackson
1) Max Verstappen - 69 points
2) Sergio Perez - 54 points
3) Fernando Alonso - 45 points
4) Lewis Hamilton - 38 points
5) Carlos Sainz - 20 points
6) Lance Stroll - 18 points
7) George Russell - 18 points
8) Lando Norris - 8 points
9) Nico Hulkenberg - 6 points
10) Charles Leclerc - 6 points
11) Valtteri Bottas - 4 points
12) Esteban Ocon - 4 points
13) Oscar Piastri - 4 points
14) Pierre Gasly - 4 points
15) Zhou Guanyu - 2 points
16) Yuki Tsunoda - 1 point
17) Kevin Magnussen - 1 point
18) Alex Albon - 1 point
19) Logan Sargeant - 0 points
20) Nyck de Vries - 0 points
Chaotic Australian Grand Prix reveals the dilemma at the heart of F1’s future
09:59 , Kieran Jackson
Comment by Kieran Jackson
Surely, the irony was not lost on some. An absorbing, highly-charged grand prix weekend down under started with bickering over the future of the Formula 1 race weekend. So much so in fact, amid a potential change of the sprint weekend structure, that reigning world champion Max Verstappen threatened to walk away from the sport.
By Sunday evening, with the race result finally confirmed just past 11pm in Melbourne, driver debate had turned to the throwing of red flags and the FIA’s justification for such actions. Three red flags were thrown in an action-packed race: an F1 record.
And who was present looking on, returning to the paddock for the first time since that day? That’s right, Michael Masi: the highly-criticised Australian at the helm for the Abu Dhabi controversy which concluded the 2021 season.
Masi was present at Albert Park in his new role as the chairman of the Australian Supercars series yet was spotted embracing, among others, Red Bull sporting director Jonathan Wheatley on Thursday. Needless to say, any welcome was not so warm at Mercedes.
Since that bungling of the safety car procedure, which resulted in Verstappen winning his first World Championship and Lewis Hamilton missing out on a record-breaking eighth crown, F1 has found itself in a wrangle.
More below:
Chaotic Australian Grand Prix reveals dilemma at the heart of F1’s future
‘They are holding back’: George Russell claims Red Bull can go even faster
09:40 , Kieran Jackson
George Russell claims Red Bull can go even faster than their current pace shows – but are “holding back” to avoid Formula 1 changing the rules to disadvantage them.
Red Bull, who cruised to the Driver and Constructor titles last year, have won the first three races this year, with Max Verstappen victorious in Bahrain and Australia while Sergio Perez was top of the podium in Saudi Arabia.
On Sunday in Melbourne, pole-sitter Verstappen dropped to third after Russell and Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton overtook him on lap one.
But Verstappen stormed back into first and built a nine-second advantage, with only a late red flag compromising his comfortable victory – though he did in the end keep hold of first place amid late chaos at Albert Park.
Yet Russell, who retired from the Australian GP due to a power unit failure, believes Red Bull are actually “embarrassed to show their full potential” in case F1 change the rules to help the other nine teams.
“For sure they’re holding back,” Russell told the BBC’s Chequered Flag podcast.
More below:
‘They are holding back’: George Russell claims Red Bull can go even faster
Carlos Sainz raging at ‘most unfair’ penalty and cuts short interview at Australian GP
09:12 , Kieran Jackson
Carlos Sainz was fuming after finishing out of the points at the Australian Grand Prix, describing a late punishment as the “most unfair penalty I’ve seen in my life.”
At the end of a crazy race in Melbourne, Sainz was given a five-second penalty for a collision with Fernando Alonso after the third red flag was thrown.
Yet with the remaining cars taking the chequered flag behind the safety car, it meant Sainz dropped from fourth on the leaderboard down to 12th, out of the points, and last out of all the finished cars.
When told of the penalty over team radio, Sainz was incandescent: “No, it cannot be!
“Why is this me out of the points. No it’s unacceptable. They need to wait until the race is finished. No!”
Sainz raging at ‘most unfair’ penalty and cuts short interview at Australian GP
Here’s the updated Constructor Standings after the Australian Grand Prix!
08:59 , Kieran Jackson
1) Red Bull - 123 points
2) Aston Martin - 65 points
3) Mercedes - 56 points
4) Ferrari - 26 points
5) McLaren - 12 points
6) Alpine - 8 points
7) Haas - 7 points
8) Alfa Romeo - 6 points
9) AlphaTauri - 1 point
10) Williams - 1 point
Max Verstappen scathing of F1 rules after Lewis Hamilton overtake
08:57 , Kieran Jackson
Having lost first place to George Russell at the start of Sunday’s chaotic and entertaining race in Melbourne, Verstappen then dropped to third after Hamilton bolted down the inside of the Red Bull at turn 3 at Albert Park.
Verstappen was quick to express his unhappiness with the move over team radio, insisting he was “ahead at the apex” and the Brit “pushed him off track.”
The Dutchman eventually propelled past Hamilton anyhow, and took the chequered flag in first place despite a hectic finale, but still voiced his displeasure at the incident after the race.
“From my side, I just tried to avoid contact,” he said. “It’s quite clear in the rules what you’re allowed to do on the outside, but clearly it’s not followed.”
Seven-time world champion Hamilton, who finished second for Mercedes’ first podium of the season, unsurprisingly disagreed with Verstappen’s assessment of the incident.
“I thought [the move] was pretty decent,” Hamilton told the media in Melbourne afterwards.
“He braked early and I braked late and I was fully up the inside and I think we both left space for each other. I didn’t run him off the road and he didn’t turn in on me. So we didn’t touch and that’s racing.”
Max Verstappen scathing of F1 rules after Lewis Hamilton overtake
Lewis Hamilton’s first F1 title under threat as Felipe Massa assesses legal options
08:55 , Kieran Jackson
Felipe Massa has sensationally revealed he is looking into legal options to overturn the result of the 2008 Formula 1 World Championship – won by Lewis Hamilton.
The Brazilian driver, then racing for Ferrari, missed out on that year’s title by a single point in dramatic circumstances at the final race in Brazil as Hamilton – then driving for McLaren - claimed the point he needed on the final lap in wet conditions.
Yet new remarks, by former F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone, on that year’s infamous ‘Crashgate’ scandal in Singapore has encouraged Massa to assess all his potential options as to whether the Championship result could be overturned, 15 years on.
Massa, now 41, stated: “I intend to study the situation, study what the laws say and the rules. We have to have an idea of what is possible to do.”
More detail below:
Lewis Hamilton’s first F1 title under threat as Felipe Massa assesses legal options
