Editor's Desk: I feel for Massa but Hamilton doesn't deserve this

Hamilton won his maiden F1 Title back in 2008, beating Massa by one point in the final race of that season in Sao Paulo in dramatic fashion as the Brazilian took the chequered flag first and started celebrating with his team, not knowing that the Briton had just passed Timo Glock to take fourth place and deny him the Title.

It was no doubt an emotional moment for Massa in front of his home crowds, and fate decided he would not win anymore while also escaping death following a freak accident in 2009 when a spring from the suspension of Rubens Barichello's Brawn struck his helmet in practice, and while the Ferrari driver made a return in 2010, he was never the same driver. His career ended in 2017 after four seasons with Williams.

Going back to 2008, we all recall the infamous crashgate from the Singapore Grand Prix when Renault F1 boss Flavio Briatore ordered Nelson Piquet Jr. to crash to bring out a Safety Car to help then-teammate Fernando Alonso win the race, which Massa started from pole.

Alonso won, and Massa finished 13th after a bad pit stop, but since then much has happened with the matter unveiled and Briatore and his tech boss at the time, Pat Symonds, both banned, the latter returning first in a managerial role in Formula One Management while the former now heads Alpine.

Following a statement from former F1 Supremo Bernie Ecclestone that he and FIA President back then, Max Mosley, covered up the matter, Massa has decided to take legal action to be acknowledged as Champion while also seeking a huge payout.

Now ever since this story began, I have been conflicted about it, as it was unfair to Massa, but at the same time, one has to ask why he took all this time to take action, especially since in his testimony, he revealed that Jean Todt, who was Ferrari boss in 2008, believed Piquet's crash was deliberate.

We need to keep in mind that Ferrari has also shot themselves in the foot—as they usually do—with Massa's pitstop in Singapore 2008, but why did they not pursue a course of action to right the huge wrong that took place on that day?

I can hazard a guess that Todt, who was in his final Ferrari days and running for FIA President, which he won in 2009, was not keen to open a can of worms that may have affected his chances of heading the governing body.

As for Massa, I am sorry to say this, but there is always a chance that he may be seeking some hush money to secure a comfortable retirement.

Formula One Management, on the other hand, will probably be more than willing to pay the eighty-something million dollars to make this all go away, an amount that would hardly put a dent into their finances. It is beyond me how FOM haven't done that already and let this issue go on till now.

And while what Massa endured was wrong and unfair, I can't but think about Hamilton, and before anyone jumps to any conclusions, let it be known that I am no Lewis fanboy.

But for his maiden F1 Title, which he impressively secured in his second season in the top flight, to be tainted is not fair to one of the greatest sportsmen in the history of our sport, who took F1 by storm since he jumped in a McLaren back in 2007 and gave then-teammate and reigning Champion Alonso, a run for his money.

What makes the matter more surreal is the fact that the main culprits in the whole fiasco, Briatore and Symonds, both have returned to the sport in high-profile positions as if nothing happened, as if they never brought F1 into disrepute with their dastardly actions on that evening in Singapore in 2008.

Honestly, this story is one we will follow with interest as it develops, but you cannot but feel that no one will emerge from it as a winner, not Felipe, not Lewis, and especially not Formula 1.