F1 crashgate: Frederic Vasseur says it would be 'strange' to change 2008 title result

Rookie operator Nelson Piquet Jr crashed his Renault connected thigh 15 of the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, triggering a safety-car period

Ferrari squad main Frederic Vasseur believes it would beryllium "strange" to alteration the results of the 2008 satellite title 15 years later.

Massa's lawyers assertion helium mislaid the rubric to Lewis Hamilton due to the fact that Renault fixed the Singapore Grand Prix.

Vasseur said it was a "tricky" taxable with "exceptional" circumstances.

He added: "I americium not a large instrumentality of changing the effect 15 minutes aft the emblem [let unsocial 15 years]."

In a missive seen by Reuters quality agency, Massa's ineligible squad says it is seeking damages reaching into the tens of millions of dollars for what they assertion is simply a "conspiracy" that denied him the 2008 title.

Massa's actions stem from an interrogation with erstwhile F1 brag Bernie Ecclestone earlier this year, successful which helium said helium and then-FIA president Max Mosley knew that the clang by Renault's Nelson Piquet Jr which turned the Singapore Grand Prix connected its caput was deliberate, but took nary action.

Ecclestone told Reuters helium could not retrieve saying what was attributed to him.

Piquet revealed during 2009 that his clang was deliberate and his actions led to an probe which resulted successful Renault squad brag Flavio Briatore and main method serviceman Pat Symonds being banned from F1 for a fig of years. Both person since been permitted to instrumentality to the paddock.

Piquet's clang triggered a safety-car play which helped his team-mate Fernando Alonso vault to the front, from wherever helium went connected to win, though a consequent probe recovered Alonso had nary cognition of the plot.

Massa had been starring the contention but errors during his pit halt nether the information car led to him leaving the pits with the substance hose inactive attached to his Ferrari, forcing his retirement. The Brazilian went connected to suffer retired to Hamilton successful the title astatine the last contention of the play by a azygous point.

Vasseur addressed a question connected the concern successful a quality league connected Tuesday by drafting parallels with existent attempts by stakeholders to "push the FIA to cognize the effect of the lawsuit astatine the chequered flag".

Trust successful FIA connected outgo cap

F1 returns from its summertime interruption for this weekend's Dutch Grand Prix awaiting the results of the FIA's investigations into whether immoderate teams breached its outgo headdress past season.

Red Bull were punished past twelvemonth with a $7m (£5.49m) good and a 10% simplification successful permitted aerodynamic probe erstwhile they were recovered to person breached the 2021 outgo headdress by $1.86m (£1.46m).

There has been speculation that astatine slightest 2 teams are successful breach of the 2022 outgo headdress successful 1 mode oregon another, but the FIA insisted earlier the summertime interruption that investigations had not concluded.

Vasseur, who has antecedently said Red Bull's punishment past twelvemonth was "very light", said: "Do I person concern? No, due to the fact that I deliberation the FIA made a connection successful July and explained that the results of the investigations volition travel by the opening of September oregon thing similar that. It was a substance of weeks and the program was the opening of September."

He added: "I afloat spot they are doing their occupation and volition travel with the results arsenic per plan."

Vasseur pleased with Ferrari advancement

Frederic Vasseur (right) is successful his archetypal play arsenic Ferrari brag and the squad are 4th successful the constructors' title with 10 races remaining

Ferrari person been successful the up-and-down radical lagging down ascendant Red Bull truthful acold this season, but Vasseur said helium was pleased with his squad's absorption to a hard commencement to the twelvemonth and is assured they volition amended into 2024.

Vasseur, who took implicit from ousted erstwhile squad main Mattia Binotto successful January, said: "Everyone was pushing successful the aforesaid direction. In presumption of show compared to Aston Martin for example, successful Jeddah [at the 2nd contention of the season] they were overmuch faster than us, but present we are mostly successful beforehand of them.

"The absorption was a bully 1 but the astir important [thing] is that the tone of the squad was a bully one. We person to proceed the improvement successful this mindset and to debar interior fighting."

Vasseur said Ferrari had immoderate show upgrades to travel earlier the extremity of this year, but not astatine the forthcoming races connected consecutive weekends astatine Zandvoort and Italy's Monza way connected 1-3 September.

Ferrari person switched parts of their car to a plan attack that follows that pioneered by Red Bull during the people of this season, and Vasseur admitted Ferrari were pursuing a antithetic plan absorption connected their car for adjacent season.

"The 2024 car is simply a antithetic project," helium said, "and adjacent if we person immoderate carryover from 1 car to the other, the projects are wholly different."

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