Sign up with GoogleFelipe Massa has hit out at Nelson Piquet Jr, saying his fellow countryman's antics in Singapore cost him the 2008 Drivers' Championship title.
Massa had been leading last year's Singapore GP before Piquet's deliberate crash brought out the Safety Car. The ensuing pressure heaped on Massa's shoulders resulted in a botched pit stop and a P13 finish for the Ferrari driver.
He went on to lose the World title to Lewis Hamilton by one point.
"All of what happened was robbery - but regarding the race nothing has happened, the result remains the same," Massa told Globo television in Brazil.
"This is not right. The robbery changed the outcome of a Championship and I lost (the title).
"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."
As for Piquet's future in Formula One, Massa reckons he does not have one and nor should he have waited until after he was dropped by Renault before telling the truth.
"In general it was a very ugly attitude for a team to come up to you and say that you have to crash in order to renew your contract," he said. "A driver who knew he was going to be fired.
"Nelsinho knew he was going to be fired. I believe that admitting a mistake is a good thing, because the guy told the truth. He shouldn't have waited so long to tell the truth. He told [the truth] because he was fired, this is not cool.
"He is in a very difficult position in Formula 1. You can be certain that if someone from a team says, 'Let's hire Nelsinho', it won't go down well. I don't think I would do this. I think that I would have to think very hard about it [and] I think that I wouldn't be able to do it."
Massa had been leading last year's Singapore GP before Piquet's deliberate crash brought out the Safety Car. The ensuing pressure heaped on Massa's shoulders resulted in a botched pit stop and a P13 finish for the Ferrari driver.
He went on to lose the World title to Lewis Hamilton by one point.
"All of what happened was robbery - but regarding the race nothing has happened, the result remains the same," Massa told Globo television in Brazil.
"This is not right. The robbery changed the outcome of a Championship and I lost (the title).
"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."
As for Piquet's future in Formula One, Massa reckons he does not have one and nor should he have waited until after he was dropped by Renault before telling the truth.
"In general it was a very ugly attitude for a team to come up to you and say that you have to crash in order to renew your contract," he said. "A driver who knew he was going to be fired.
"Nelsinho knew he was going to be fired. I believe that admitting a mistake is a good thing, because the guy told the truth. He shouldn't have waited so long to tell the truth. He told [the truth] because he was fired, this is not cool.
"He is in a very difficult position in Formula 1. You can be certain that if someone from a team says, 'Let's hire Nelsinho', it won't go down well. I don't think I would do this. I think that I would have to think very hard about it [and] I think that I wouldn't be able to do it."
