Thread: Renault cost me title, says Massa

It's balderdash anyway, like those people who said "if we'd had medals in 1934 my dad would have won the championship".

It doesn't work like that. Take Brazil, just for one example. Hamilton and McLaren made the deliberate decision to only drive for 5th place that weekend because that's all they needed. Had Massa been closer in the points, who can say whether that would have been the case? Lewis may have won; he may have crashed out trying to win.

Anyway, who is to say that Ferrari's hopeless traffic light system wouldn't have screwed them over some other time? I don't care if you're the lovechild of Derren Brown and Mystic Meg: nobody can predict this stuff.

Poor Massa is feeling aggrieved, and that's understandable, but he's gained a great deal of respect for the dignified way he handled losing the '08 Championship - he doesn't want to throw that goodwill away with ill-thought outbursts like this.

Originally Posted by Dave Brockman

It's balderdash anyway, like those people who said "if we'd had medals in 1934 my dad would have won the championship".

Or as I like to say...

"If my Aunty had Bollocks, she'd be my Uncle."

While Felipe's comments are somewhat understandable, they are also disappointing.

There are far too many "what's ifs" that can affect the outcome of any world championship, not just 2008. Had one thing not happened, then a dozen other things may (not) have followed.

The Renault race fix itself might not have worked had any number of different things happened.

You can't remove one event in isolation, then say with certainty what would have happened. Sorry Felipe but you were, and are, the 2008 WDC runner up. Nothing can, should, or will, change that.

i do not see this that way

Massa is convinced the punishments were too lenient.

"I have seen in football how a referee took money to throw a game and all the matches he influenced were annulled," he said.

"The team responsible were relegated. Here they just sent Briatore home. I don't understand it and I don't think it was right."

Massa can always cling to the notion, but it will not change nor diminish the fact Hamilton is the rightful 2008 WDC...

I wonder if Massa is starting to believe he will not be 100% fit again and he is lamenting the season he came closest to winning the crown...

Originally Posted by Knock-on

Or as I like to say...

"If my Aunty had Bollocks, she'd be my Uncle."

I think the championship went to the right person in the end. If it wasn't for the FIA's outrageously bare-faced attempt to stifle Lewis Hamilton at every imagined opportunity he would have won it earlier than the final round, and by more than one point.

Originally Posted by Brown, Jon Brow

Felipe Massa has accused Renault of robbing him of the 2008 drivers' championship.

The Brazilian was leading last year's Singapore Grand Prix when Nelson Piquet Jr crashed deliberately, which helped Fernando Alonso to win the race.

"All of what happened was robbery. Regarding the race nothing has happened, the result stays the same. That's not right," said Massa.

"It changed the championship. I lost by one point."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/moto...ne/8286418.stm

So is Massa saying that this race should be annulled? I don't think that is a sporting thing to say. It 's completely unfair to expect results to change that could affect the outcome of the season. Drivers would have approached races with a different mentality. Would you expect Hamilton to trundle around for a few points in Interlagos if Massa had been closer in the title race?

I can fully understand why Massa feels robbed by Renault, but the championship is won throughout a season, not just on one race.

Correct me if I am wrong but isn't this the same Massa who couldn't keep it on the track during the '08 British GP while Hamilton was running away with the win??

Originally Posted by thunderbolt

i do not see this that way

Fair enough, Felipe doesn't agree with the penalty, or lack of, imposed on Renault. He's not alone there.

There is a difference in believing Renault have gotten away with effectively no penalty and believing that Massa was robbed of the title... as pointed out by others that Massa (and the Ferrari team) can finger many occasions during the 2008 season where they underperformed and fouled up all of which made it possible for someone else to win the title...

and hasn't he gotten a win for a rather undeserved spa grand prix that year...he would have prolly gotten in second / third had not the FIA seen fit to punish Hamilton for what was effectively racing...

Let it go Felipe!
Just let it go

Felipe, you WERE world champion . . . in Brazil . . . for about 10 seconds.

One thing I loved in the whole mess is that a race and a championship can not be changed 12 months after the end of the story. For Felipe to want championship in the court is ugly and unpleasant. Also it is insulting to his new teammate Fernando Alonso. Boo, Felipe!

Originally Posted by Knock-on

Or as I like to say...

"If my Aunty had Bollocks, she'd be my Uncle."

This is also very poor sportsmanship by FM.
Kinda makes me think that if anyone is going to be throwing toys out of his pram at Ferrari it will be Massa not FA.
Well I may be reading too much into it.
At any rate This was a classless act from a guy I thought was better than that!

Massa is right and wrong. He lost due to a blatant cheating move that ultimately changed the Singapore result and the outcome of the WDC between Massa vs Lewis. But at the same time, the FIA screwed Lewis at Spa, so I think Lewis is the deserved WDC in the end anyway. Its all history anyway.

Indeed, lets not forget the Spa fix. However this smacks of poor journalism TBH....they ask Felipe about his thoughts on cheating, in particualr Singapore 08 and then it becomes "I was robbed". I hope he was mis-quoted as I have a lot of respect for Massa and this comes off as bitter

Originally Posted by I am evil Homer

Indeed, lets not forget the Spa fix. However this smacks of poor journalism TBH....they ask Felipe about his thoughts on cheating, in particualr Singapore 08 and then it becomes "I was robbed". I hope he was mis-quoted as I have a lot of respect for Massa and this comes off as bitter

agreed. the fia did everything they could to stop hammy from being champion, but they failed. singapore wasnt the only farce that year, spa was as well. 2008 was a twisting sintelating season, too many what ifs for anyone to start complaining about the final result.

quite classless by Massa IMO, what happened happened, he was graceful in defeat, he shouldn;t spoil it now.

Hamilton was worthy world champion, im not just saying thats as a fan, he really was.

How did Renault cheating make the Ferrari 'traffic lights' fail on his pit stop?

Originally Posted by I am evil Homer

Indeed, lets not forget the Spa fix. However this smacks of poor journalism TBH....they ask Felipe about his thoughts on cheating, in particualr Singapore 08 and then it becomes "I was robbed". I hope he was mis-quoted as I have a lot of respect for Massa and this comes off as bitter

I sincerely hope you are right. I really wonder if FM is slyer than I thought,
and meant this to be the final nail in NPjr coffin, in regards to thinking he will ever be able to show his cheating @$$ in Brazil again