F1 & Cheating: Can you reverse sporting history?

“Is that Glock?” is a famous piece of Formula 1 commentary delivered by Martin Brundle 15 years ago. What if that moment was reversed, and we all had to pretend that did not exist for sporting justice?

Felipe Massa via Wikimedia

That is what Felipe Massa has been openly attempting to achieve in the past few months. Lewis Hamilton had won the 2008 world championship after a dramatic last corner overtake on Timo Glock in Interlagos, but Massa had felt he lost his championship a few races prior in Marina Bay.

‘Crashgate’ is one of the most stark and prominent controversies in a sport, which in all fairness, has not shied away from controversy. On 28th September 2008, on lap 14 in Singapore, Nelson Piquet Jr. deliberately crashed out after a Fernando Alonso pitstop, which would promote the Spaniard to first, and then to eventually win from 15th on the grid.

The following year, the FIA investigated and charged Renault F1, who were subsequently disqualified from the sport. Felipe Massa had a poor pit-stop as a result of this blatant case of cheating, and believes he is the rightful 2008 world champion.

Speaking to Infobae recently, Massa expressed his sense of injustice: “I was robbed, for sure. It was a perfect Championship, which ended by one point at Interlagos. But then we saw there was a manipulated race, and the result should have been cancelled. They (F1 & FIA) didn’t do it because they didn’t want to destroy the F1 name”.

And most prominently, Felipe Massa finishes this statement with “I was champion for 38 seconds, but it wasn’t true. I was champion forever”.

This begs the question of sporting integrity and whether that can be reversed. Morally, sporting injustice must not be promoted to exist in any form. ‘Crashgate’ was rightfully infamous, but the idea that Ecclestone believes he was protecting the sport is nonsensical. If justice was given at the time, the discussions would not be held 15 years later.

It is tough to see a way in which Felipe Massa is successful, simply due to the unprecedented nature of reversing sporting history. We have seen titles stripped in cycling for cheaters, but taking a championship changing hands is not something which we have seen.

This obviously is not the only Formula 1 sporting controversy which has sparked mass debate and discussion. Lap 58, Abu Dhabi, 2021. I did not need to mention any detail, as everyone is aware that the FIA themselves broke their own rules on that fateful evening.

Toto Wolff said Mercedes will be keeping a keen eye on the Felipe Massa case, as if that proves successful their may also be a case from the 2021 championship being handed to Lewis Hamilton.

This outlines the lack of bravery and integrity at the summit of Formula One and the FIA. The decision making processes which occur are on a level of being cowardly and cheating, and it has felt as if the interests have not been in the interests of the sport as a whole.

Manipulation did come with severe consequences for Renault F1, but the FIA were not able to reciprocate a similar punishment on themselves after 2021 due to their power. A restructuring has been needed at the governing body for a while now, but a lack of self-awareness is preventing that.

A keen eye from the sporting world must be on Felipe Massa’s case. A huge precedent is set if a championship changes hands based off cheating. Is it the right solution for sporting controversy? Time for the Court of Arbitration for Sport to decide.