Toto Wolff admits that the outcome of Felipe Massa's legal challenge to the 2008 F1 title could set a precedent, not least in terms of overturning the result of the controversial 2021 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

Massa is currently involved in a legal action over the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, which was won by Fernando Alonso after his teammate, Nelson Piquet Jr deliberately crashed.

The Safety Car period that followed the crash saw Massa lose out on a potential win as a result of a disastrous pit stop which subsequently dropped him to thirteenth.

Lewis Hamilton famously went on to win the title by just one point, after passing Timo Glock in the last corner of the final lap.

Massa is claiming that as the result of a "conspiracy" involving (then) F1 bosses and the FIA he was robbed of the title and along with it millions in lost earnings and bonuses and that the result of the race should have been cancelled.

At a time the Brazilian is said to be seeking support for his claim from Hamilton, the Briton's team is watching the situation with keen interest believing that it could help overturn the result of the controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix of 2021.

It's interesting," Toto Wolff told reporters in Singapore, "interesting to follow.

"It's clearly not something that anyone saw coming," he admitted. "The rules are pretty clear in Formula One, there's a civil case behind it. It will certainly set a precedent, whatever it is.

"Yeah," he smiled. "We're looking from the sidelines with curiosity."

Asked if Massa proved successful in his case this might give the green light to Mercedes challenging the result in 2021, Wolff replied: "The FIA commented on the 2021 race with a clear statement. So that's why we're looking at it with interest."

Meanwhile, Hamilton claims that he is not aware of being asked to assist Massa's challenge, while refusing to spend any more time worrying about the events at the Yas Marina just two years ago.

"I don't know if anyone has been in touch with us, but my thoughts haven't changed since the last time the question was asked," he said. "I'm really not focused on what happened fifteen years ago or two years ago, I'm focused on right now how to help my team winning another championship and the future."

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READERS COMMENTS

1. Posted by kenji, 16/09/2023 2:00

"Interesting speculation. I do not see any way that both these cases can be seen to have parallels. One was a conspiracy formed prior to the race start and found to be liable in a court of law. Penalties were meted out. The latter case is entirely different insofar as there has been no evidence put out into the public arena other than it was a decision by the race director to implement a determination according to his interpretation of the rules. He has never been charged and he's not been found guilty of anything AFAIK. Now if anyone has evidence that says otherwise then surely that would've been introduced immediately post race. There was nothing stopping Mercedes lodging a protest. They even had one of their top legal advisors in their pit garage apparently....and they still did nothing! If they have unearthed new evidence then let's all see what it is, test it in a court of law then move on. IMO the race should've been declared a non race in the first instance."

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2. Posted by Paulinho, 15/09/2023 16:37

"There is a lot of history surrounding these events, and I highly doubt any investigation will over turn all or any stones so to speak. I think with Bernie in court next month, and Max Mosley's suicide, well Massa may not get very far with this. "

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Mercedes watching Massa title case from the sidelines

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