The Mercedes team principal, Toto Wolff, has indicated the team could challenge the controversial decision that cost Lewis Hamilton the 2021 world championship. Wolff acknowledged that the current legal case Felipe Massa has brought against Formula One and the FIA might set a precedent that would have a direct influence on Hamilton’s claim to the title.
Massa has taken legal action over the “crashgate” affair in 2008, when he lost the title to Hamilton by a single point. At the Singapore Grand Prix that year Massa was leading when Renault orchestrated a crash by Nelson Piquet Jr in order to benefit his teammate Fernando Alonso. During the safety car period that was triggered by the crash, when Massa went into the pits Ferrari released him with the fuel hose attached, he was penalised and finished 13th.
