SUZUKA // Lewis Hamilton has no doubt about the validity of last season's world title win despite claims by Felipe Massa that he was "robbed" of the driver's crown. Ferrari driver Massa has hit out at Formula One's governing body, the FIA, for their failure to overturn the result of last year's Singapore Grand Prix following admissions by Renault that Nelson Piquet Jr had deliberately crashed in order to aid Fernando Alonso's race chances.
The 'Crashgate' scandal, which brought out the safety car, ruined Massa's race, the Brazilian immediately pitting but driving away from the pits with the fuel hose still attached following a mix-up by his pit crew. He ended up out of the points. Massa argued Renault's actions had cost him victory and also the title he lost by a point to Hamilton at Interlagos. Hamilton said he was shocked by his 2008 championship rival's stance. "It was a tough season and a lot of things happened. There were lots of what-ifs throughout the season. But I was a bit surprised to hear him say that as I felt we'd fought a fair battle," he said.
Massa, recovering in his native Brazil from the head injuries he sustained in qualifying at July's Hungarian Grand Prix, sparked a war of words with Hamilton by describing the defending champion's title win as "robbery". "All of what happened was robbery but, regarding the race, nothing happened," said Massa. "The result remains the same. This is not right. The robbery changed the outcome of a championship and I lost."
He called on the FIA to follow football's lead and wipe out the Singapore result from the 2008 season. However, a spokesman for the FIA dismissed the suggestion. Massa argued: "I have seen in football how a referee took money to throw a game and all the suspect results were annulled. In Italy, Juventus were relegated. But here they just sent Flavio Briatore home. I don't get it and I don't think it was right."
Hamilton's teammate, Heikki Kovalainen, topped the timesheets in the first of yesterday's two rain- affected practice sessions for the Japanese Grand Prix, while Force India driver Adrian Sutil clocked the fastest lap in a second session which looked in danger of a complete wash-out amid heavy downpours over the Suzuka circuit. Brawn GP opted not to send out championship rivals Jenson Button and Rubens Barrichello for the second session in order to conserve their tyres, while Kovalainen was the only other driver not to make an appearance in practice two.
Button, who leads Barrichello by 15 points, said: "It would have been pointless running in the wet as it'll be dry the next two days. In the wet, you go about 40kmh slower through the chicane up the hill and your set-up is completely different." mmajendie@thenational.ae
