F1: Bernie Ecclestone makes feelings clear on Lewis Hamilton being stripped of 2008 title
F1: Bernie Ecclestone has backed Lewis Hamilton amid Felipe Massa's fight
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Former F1 chief Bernie Ecclestone has backed Lewis Hamilton amid Felipe Massa's desire to given the 2008 title.
Hamilton won the crown that year by just one point after overtaking Timo Glock on the final lap in the last race of the season.
However, earlier in the season, there was a controversial incident in Singapore.
Fernando Alonso won that race, with Hamilton coming third while Massa failed to score any points.
Felipe Massa is eager to be given the 2008 F1 title which was won by Lewis Hamilton
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Afterwards, however, it emerged Alonso's win only came about after team-mate Nelson Piquet Jr deliberately crashed to cause a safety car.
With the leaders of the race forced into the pits, Massa drove off while his car was still attached to the fuel pump.
An FIA investigation later saw the Renault team handed a suspended disqualification from the sport.
Ecclestone has previously said that Massa was 'cheated' out of winning the world championship.
Massa is launching legal action with the FIA and wants the 2008 crown, which was won by Hamilton.
But Ecclestone has condemned the 42-year-old and believes he must accept that the title doesn't belong to him.
"The Massa clan only cares about money. But the chances of that happening are zero," he told Blick. "Hamilton and Mercedes could have filed a lawsuit against the FIA after the not very clean 2021 finale in Abu Dhabi.”
While Ecclestone has slammed Massa, the former F1 star has claimed the 92-year-old is behind his decision to appeal.
"This made me lift the antenna and go after justice," he said.
"I'm not a lawyer, but everyone knows, I was clearly wronged and I think justice is part of our fight to get what happened right.
"That was a stolen run. It was manipulation, which is a very serious thing.
"It wasn't an engine that broke down. There was also an engine that broke, but that's part of the game. "They made Nelsinho Piquet crash because he wanted to help his team-mate, who was last in the race, to win.
"They totally did a manipulation for a result."
Bernardo Viana, who represents Massa, is actually hoping for support from Hamilton.
“He is an important ambassador for the sport and has always defended sporting integrity," he said.
“He is an honorary Brazilian citizen and very well-liked by Brazilians, so I hope he will support us.
“We have absolutely nothing against Hamilton."
In other F1 news, there have also been calls for Michael Schumacher to be stripped of the title he won back in 1994.
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Lewis Hamilton celebrates after winning his first F1 title all the way back in 2008
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The German hasn't been seen publicly since a skiing accident nearly a decade ago.
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