UEFA rebuts claim Istanbul in doubt as Champions League final host after election
UEFA insists the Champions League final will be played in Istanbul no matter the outcome of this weekend's Turkish elections
2023-05-12 19:46
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce says she had to 'preserve my name' with crushing win at son's sports day
Another parent's attempts to "psych her out" spurred Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce to compete in her son's sports day, the Olympic sprinter said in an interview with The Guardian this week.
2023-05-12 19:25
Lewis Hamilton’s 2008 F1 title still under threat as Felipe Massa bemoans ‘injustice’
Felipe Massa has reiterated calls for Lewis Hamilton’s 2008 F1 title triumph to be investigated after new remarks surfaced from Bernie Ecclestone. Brazilian driver Massa, then racing for Ferrari, missed out on that year’s title by a single point in dramatic circumstances at the final race in Brazil as Hamilton – then driving for McLaren - claimed the point he needed on the final lap in wet conditions. Yet new comments, by former F1 supremo Ecclestone, about that year’s infamous ‘Crashgate’ scandal in Singapore has encouraged Massa to assess all his potential options as to whether the Championship result could be overturned. Speaking about Ecclestone’s comments for the first time on camera, 42-year-old Massa labelled Hamilton’s first F1 title win an ‘injustice’ and ‘not fair’. “You fight them to the last corner of the last race, pass the chequered flag as the champion and then everything changed,” he told Sky Sports in Miami. “For sure, a fight on the track. “Then you discover what has happened in Singapore. People, important people like Bernie [Ecclestone], like Max Mosley, like Charlie Whiting - they knew in 2008 and they didn’t do anything. “That is really a massive surprise for me. It’s really [an] injustice and I think definitely we need to study everything that happened because it’s not fair what has happened.” Ecclestone revealed in March that both he and then-FIA president Max Mosley knew of the Crashgate scandal in 2008, but refused to publicise the chain of events to avoid the sport a “huge scandal.” WHAT WAS CRASHGATE? Crashgate rocked the sport when the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix in 2008 saw Renault’s Fernando Alonso win the race before it emerged that his team-mate Nelson Piquet Jr. had deliberately crashed to bring out a safety car which played into Alonso’s hands. That safety car prompted a Massa pit stop that Ferrari mishandled, with Massa eventually finishing the race 13th while Hamilton came home third – a difference of six points, a swing which ultimately impacted the title result. While Renault and team boss Flavio Briatore were punished in 2009, the result of the race stood despite Massa’s protestations, with the FIA’s statues making clear that overturning the classification from each season is impossible once the FIA Awards Ceremony for that year is complete, a rule set in the FIA International Sporting Code. “We decided not to do anything for now,” Ecclestone told F1-Insider. “We wanted to protect the sport and save it from a huge scandal. That’s why I used angelic tongues to persuade my former driver Nelson Piquet to keep calm for the time being. “Back then, there was a rule that a world championship classification after the FIA ​​awards ceremony at the end of the year was untouchable. So Hamilton was presented with the trophy and everything was fine. “We had enough information in time to investigate the matter. According to the statutes, we should have cancelled the race in Singapore under these conditions. “That means it would never have happened for the championship standings. And then Felipe Massa would have become world champion and not Lewis Hamilton.” Upon hearing this new information come to light, Massa told Motorsport.com last month that he will look into his – albeit slim – legal options, noting the example of Lance Armstrong’s doping revelations and the stripping of his Tour de France victories. “There is a rule that says that when a championship is decided, from the moment the driver receives the champion’s trophy, things can no longer be changed, even if it has been proven a theft,” Massa, who ultimately did not win an F1 world title, said. “At the time, Ferrari’s lawyers told me about this rule. We went to other lawyers and the answer was that nothing could be done. So I logically believed in this situation. “But after 15 years, we hear that the [former] owner of the category says that he found out in 2008, together with the president of the FIA, and they did nothing [so as] to not tarnish the name of F1. “This is very sad, to know the result of this race was supposed to be cancelled and I would have a title. In the end, I was the one who lost the most with this result. So, we are going after it to understand all this. “We have already seen other situations happening in sports, such as Lance Armstrong, who was proven to have doped, and he lost all the titles. What is the difference?” Despite Massa’s comments, his options appear slim, with the FIA’s own International Sporting Code stating protests and reviews expire 14 days after a competition and four days prior to that year’s prize giving ceremony. He also cannot use the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which has no jurisdiction over the FIA on issues like this, with the independent International Court of Appeal the highest authority in the sport. CAS may only be involved in F1 matters relating to the FIA’s Anti-Doping Disciplinary Committee. Massa’s best-finish in F1 turned out to be that 2008 season as he retired in 2017 while Hamilton has gone on to win six more titles with Mercedes, holding the joint-record of seven F1 World Championships with Michael Schumacher. Read More Lewis Hamilton would be taking gamble by leaving Mercedes, says former rival Inspired by Schumacher, meet the Hong Kong billionaire targeting a new Formula 1 team Is a bright Ferrari future being hampered by the past? The Miami Grand Prix could already have a problem – and it comes in the form of Las Vegas Max Verstappen urged to ‘take leaf out of Lewis Hamilton’s book’ after George Russell clash
2023-05-12 19:24
Injury forces Fraser-Pryce out of Kenya athletics meet
Injury has forced Jamaican sprint star Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce to withdraw from a weekend athletics meet in Kenya that would have signalled the...
2023-05-12 18:55
Erling Haaland, Sam Kerr win Football Writers’ Association awards
Erling Haaland has been voted “Footballer of the Year” in England for his prolific debut season with Manchester City and Chelsea striker Sam Kerr has become the first back-to-back winner of the women’s award
2023-05-12 18:47
Sinner eases past Kokkinakis into Italian Open last 32
Jannick Sinner cruised into the last 32 of the Italian Open on Friday with a straight-sets win over...
2023-05-12 18:45
Stenson resigns from European Tour after sanctions
Axed Ryder Cup captain Henrik Stenson has resigned his European Tour membership after golf chiefs imposed further sanctions on players who competed in LIV Golf...
2023-05-12 18:29
Soccer-Key witness in FIFA corruption probe to be sentenced in U.S
By Luc Cohen NEW YORK A former Argentine businessmen whose testimony contributed to the U.S. convictions of South
2023-05-12 18:20
After a record-breaking season, Erling Haaland is on track to become 'the best striker ever'
Erling Haaland's arrival at Manchester City last summer was met with equal measures of excitement and curiosity.
2023-05-12 17:56
Hurricanes ride collective scoring into Eastern Conference finals of NHL playoffs
The Carolina Hurricanes keep finding the back of the net despite losing multiple talented goal scorers to injury
2023-05-12 17:45
Arsenal duo to miss rest of the Premier League season through injury
Arsenal will be without William Saliba and Oleksandr Zinchenko for the rest of the season because of injury. Mikel Arteta is expected to continue fielding Jakub Kiwior and Kieran Tierney in their absence as they bid to topple Manchester City.
2023-05-12 16:55
Barcelona confident of announcing Lionel Messi return soon
Barcelona are confident they will be in a position to announce Lionel Messi's return soon. Sergio Busquets announced he will leave the club earlier this week which will free up space on the wage bill, with others set to follow.
2023-05-12 16:52
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