Massa says Ferrari tried to silence him over Crashgate comments
In a recently revealed witness statement, Felipe Massa claimed that Ferrari reprimanded him in 2009 after he publicly implied Fernando Alonso knew about teammate Nelson Piquet Jr’s deliberate crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix.
The controversial incident allowed Alonso to win the race, while Massa’s championship hopes ended after a pit stop error left him finishing 13th.
“In October 2009 I also told journalists that I believed Fernando Alonso, the other Renault driver who won because of Nelson’s crash, knew it was on purpose,” Massa said in his statement.
According to Massa, Ferrari’s contract management firm, GSA, sent him a formal reprimand letter on 16 October 2009 for speaking publicly about Alonso. The letter, signed by Ferrari lawyer Henry Peter, arrived shortly before Alonso’s transfer to Ferrari for the 2010 season.
Massa revealed Ferrari even drafted a public statement for him to sign, which he refused. He decided instead to make a neutral comment about looking forward.
“Ferrari then drafted a statement for me to issue but I refused to make that statement. Instead, I just said that it was time to look to the future,” Massa said.
This revelation adds to Massa’s £64 million ($128 million AUD) lawsuit against the FIA, Formula One Management, and Bernie Ecclestone. He argues they neglected to act on race-fixing evidence that might have changed the 2008 championship result.
Author’s summary:
Felipe Massa disclosed that Ferrari tried to suppress his 2009 comments implicating Alonso in the 2008 Crashgate scandal, deepening his ongoing legal fight over the tainted title race.