Former Ferrari boss and FIA president Jean Todt said the result of the controversial 2008 Singapore Grand Prix should have been scratched out as soon as wrongdoing first emerged.
That 2008 race became known as ‘Crashgate’ when, a year later, it emerged Renault had instructed Nelson Piquet Jr to crash, which helped teammate Fernando Alonso win due to the timing of the safety car which followed.
That moment is the basis of former Ferrari driver Felipe Massa’s legal action to get the race result, and the outcome of that year’s championship, overturned.
Massa had been in a good position in that race until Piquet’s crash, which encouraged everyone to pit early — when he did so, the fuel nozzle got stuck in his Ferrari, causing him to finish down the order.
Massa went on to lose the championship to Lewis Hamilton by a single point.
The Brazilian driver has alleged then-FIA president Max Mosley, who was succeeded by Todt in 2009, and FIA race director Charlie Whiting knew about the conspiracy before the end of that year’s championship.
Todt, who was Ferrari boss until the end of 2008, said in a recent interview with L’Equipe: “This case is special. There was proven cheating that we only found out about later. The rule at the FIA has always been that the results must be ratified by Dec. 31, and that we never go back on them.
“For this Singapore case, the facts were only revealed a year later, and the sanctions imposed by the FIA before my arrival were cancelled by the Paris Judicial Court.”
Todt became FIA president after his stint at Ferrari and said he was told no-one had known about Crashgate before it emerged publicly in 2009, but that it would have been enough to force a call for drastic action.
“When I was president of the FIA, I was not informed of this. Discovering that the federation knew the truth before this famous December 31 could indeed change things.
“Unfortunately, Charlie and Max have passed away. In hindsight, well, we should have asked for the race to be cancelled.
“The completely new fact, if it is true and verifiable, is that the regulator who made the championship official knew [about what happened].”