“I’m not particularly good at music. I listen to it and appreciate it, and I even got to pose once with a guitar that Ferrari once released. But my musical talent, if you can call it that, ends there. This is a big confession for a Brazilian, I know. But in my memory, since I was just a crib baby, the sounds of my life come from the roar under the hood and the squeak of rubber on the asphalt. This is my soundtrack. And Interlagos is my symphony.” This is how the article signed by Felipe Massa that The Players Tribune published last week begins, where the former driver reviews his 42 years, his route to Formula 1 and the special relationship he maintains with the circuit that this Sunday will host the first of the three last events of the championship. The track is not only located in São Paulo, his hometown, but it was also the scene of the most intense weekend of his sporting career. A grand prix, that of 2008, that competes directly in explosiveness with that of two years ago in Abu Dhabi, in which Max Verstappen celebrated his first championship title, in that controversial end of the race that decided the balance against Lewis Hamilton . Coincidentally, the Briton experienced in that test a sensation similar to that which accompanies Massa, and which motivated him to initiate a legal process against the International Automobile Federation (FIA) and Formula One Management (FOM) – holder of the exploitation rights of the competition—by considering Hamilton’s coronation fraudulent.
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The lawyers of the São Paulo player, who on that occasion lost the World Cup by a single point, defend the illegality of the final classification. They allege that the result of the Singapore Grand Prix, famous for Crashgate – Nelsinho Piquet crashed on purpose into the wall to make it easier for Fernando Alonso, his teammate at Renault, to win – should have been annulled in 2009, once discovered the montage orchestrated by Flavio Briatore, director of the diamond brand team. If that event had not been counted, Massa would be part of the select club of champions. “This year, Bernie Ecclestone, boss of F1 in 2008, confessed to having been aware of everything, but that he did not act because he wanted to preserve the sport and save it from a major scandal. The only question I have to ask, and that my lawyers are asking themselves right now, is: if the Singapore Grand Prix was manipulated, shouldn’t it be annulled?” asks Massa, in a manifesto that seeks to explain the reasons for the crusade that maintains: “Being defeated fraudulently is disgusting. And sweeping the crap under the rug is vile. The world of sports needs an answer and deserves reparation. I can say that I still live with a tremendous feeling of injustice,” laments Felipinho.
You don’t have to be a lynx to understand that the open case about the outcome of that season is an uncomfortable issue for F1, and even more so these days when the caravan has settled in Interlagos. There, a stone’s throw from where he grew up and where he is revered by fans, Massa’s presence has become a nuisance. So much so that the Brazilian has confessed his intention of not traveling to the circuit. Recently, the runner attended the races as an ambassador for the championship, and even officiated at the appearances of the winners on some occasions. However, the conflict with the competition’s promotion and legislation bodies has placed it in another position. “The only thing I know is that F1 asked me not to go to the Monza race. I was also going to go to Japan, and I didn’t go either,” the driver acknowledged a couple of days ago, in statements to the Autosport website, in which he affirms his intention not to be seen at Interlagos. “I think i will not go. I fully understand and respect the legal context of the moment, even to the extent of not attending. [al evento], for everything that is happening. In any case, I have not received the invitation as ambassador,” Massa stressed.
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2023-11-03 11:45:20
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