The Ecclestone/Massa alternate history of F1

The controversy of the 2008 season has recently been reignited. In the season, Lewis Hamilton beat Felipe Massa to the championship by a single point by passing Timo Glock in the final corner of the Brazilian Grand Prix, one of the most exciting title deciders of all time. However, earlier in the season had been the Singapore Grand Prix where Nelson Piquet Jr deliberately crashed and brought out a safety car, just after teammate Fernando Alonso had pitted and went straight to the front as a result, putting him in position to win the race, which he duly did.

The first problem with this situation was the fact that it was possible in the first place, as cars were not allowed to pit immediately after a safety car in 2008 which meant somebody who had just pitted could automatically cycle straight to the front by pure luck, as happened to Piquet Jr in Hockenheim when he inherited second place. Thankfully, this has been solved to some extent now refuelling is gone, and teams can pit as soon as a safety car is called, although there is still a bit of a luck element due to pitstops taking less time behind the safety car, and red flags when they are free have increased this further.

The controversy has been reignited because Bernie Ecclestone, boss of Formula 1 at the time, recently said that he and Max Mosley, President of the FIA, knew about Crashgate at the time, and the correct procedure would have been to declare the Singapore Grand Prix null and void. This would give Felipe Massa the championship, as Lewis Hamilton would lose his six points for finishing third in that race despite having nothing to do with the controversy. Felipe Massa since started a legal case against FOM and the FIA, calling himself ‘the rightful champion of 2008,’ and asking for money to make up for reputational damages. Thankfully, he is not trying to get the championship 15 years later.

It seems slightly obnoxious for Massa to be described as ‘the rightful champion of 2008,’ considering Crashgate was not what cost him the title. Massa had been leading from Hamilton in Singapore when the safety car came out, both cars pitted together with the exact same situation for both, and Massa dropped to the back of the field after leaving with his refuelling rig still attached. That mistake by Ferrari cost him the title (along with various other things during the season), and Crashgate had nothing to do with it. It was perfectly possible that a safety car could have been deployed then naturally, and the only anomaly about this particular safety car is the fact that it benefitted Alonso. It would make sense, at the time, to have disqualified the entire Renault team from that race (or even the season), giving Nico Rosberg a fortunate race win as he had inadvertently benefitted from the safety car as well. However, changes like this should surely only happen within a year of the season ending, and not 15 years later. It seems wrong that Massa is the one who should be given reparations when he was affected no more than every other driver and team member at the time.

The real strange thing about the Crashgate situation is Bernie Ecclestone’s statement that, according to the rules of the time, the correct outcome would be to expunge the Singapore Grand Prix from the history books and declare Massa the world champion. In 75 years of practically every team looking for any minute way possible to get around the rulebook, there isn’t the tiniest precedent for an entire race to be declared null and void because of one team cheating. It has always been the case that the team cheating is simply disqualified. The whole idea is totally bizarre and ridiculous, and I have a strong suspicion that Ecclestone has invented it to stir up some trouble. If this really was the case, the entire history of Formula 1 would need evaluating.

So, for a bit of fun, I have decided to write out an alternate history of Formula 1 according to the delusional and insane Ecclestone/Massa idea that when one team cheats in a Formula 1 race, rather than just disqualifying the guilty party, the entire race is expunged from the history books. And if it is possible to do this 15 years later, then it should be possible to do it any time back to 1950. It creates a bizarre situation in many seasons, with 1997 perhaps the best of them all. This is partly just to investigate some interesting examples of F1 teams cheating, and partly to make a mockery out of Felipe Massa’s legal case.

For the record, an incident only counts as cheating if it is deliberate. So a driver accidentally taking someone else out, or pits when the pitlane is closed, or jumps the start, or a team does an unsafe release or can’t provide a sufficient fuel sample, that is not considered cheating. I have also not included things like push starts. But turning up with an illegal car, or deliberately taking someone out, or getting one car to crash deliberately to bring out a safety car and gift the other car a victory, constitutes a race being declared null and void. It is quite difficult to determine some of these from the 1970s as the rules were far more relaxed then, with different scrutineers at different events being harsher than others, and so it is very possible that half the cars in any race in the 1970s were illegal, often without that team even knowing about it. So I have only included races where somebody was disqualified at the time in these instances, or controversially reinstated. I will also not include disqualifications for being underweight unless there is a specific reason why that constitutes cheating, and there are a few other small instances which could be included but I decided not to. I have also ignored disqualifications for pushing cars over the line in the 1980s as it was never punished. There will certainly be far more unknown examples than are cited here.

So here is the alternate history of Formula 1, if Felipe Massa were to get given the 2008 championship:

1951 – In the Italian Grand Prix, Maurice Trintignant was unable to start the race due to illness and Gordini would lose money if they withdrew the car, so they instead made Jean Behra race disguised as Trintignant. He retired with engine failure, but this race must therefore be declared null and void and so Alberto Ascari loses victory. Juan Manuel Fangio remains world champion.

1959 – In the United States Grand Prix, Harry Schell took a short-cut in qualifying to get on the front row of the grid instead of Tony Brooks. Arguably, this cost Brooks the title as it put him in position to be hit by Wolfgang von Trips on the first lap, but instead the race must disappear and Bruce McLaren loses his first win, while Jack Brabham keeps the championship.

1970 – Jochen Rindt won the British Grand Prix, but the Lotus rear wing was bent and he was disqualified as it was considered to have been too high if the wing had not been bent. Rindt was eventually reinstated, but there have been suggestions that the wing was illegal during the race and was bent by Lotus mechanics (perhaps pretending to celebrate by jumping on it) after to push it below the maximum height. This race is therefore declared null and void and Jacky Ickx takes the 1970 championship, although Lotus remain constructors’ champions. There are surely plenty more similar but unknown instances to this.

1974 – In the Swedish Grand Prix, Vern Schuppan failed to qualify but started the race anyway from the back of the grid. He was disqualified after the race, but the race should have been expunged from the history books and Jody Scheckter’s first win removed. Tim Schenken did the same thing in the United States Grand Prix, therefore costing Carlos Reutemann that victory. Emerson Fittipaldi also loses his two fourth places from these races and Clay Regazzoni becomes world champion of 1974, while McLaren hold onto the constructors’ title.

1975 – In Sweden, Vittorio Brambilla took a shock pole position for March, but Robin Herd, the chief designer, later admitted to have swung a pit signal board in front of the timing beam to secure the pole. This means Niki Lauda loses this race win, but not the championship.

1976 – James Hunt won the Spanish Grand Prix but was subsequently disqualified as his car was too wide, before being reinstated as it was only a minor breach. He probably should have been disqualified so this race disappears. Then in the British Grand Prix, Hunt won after illegally switching to a spare car and was later disqualified, as were Regazzoni and Laffite, so this race too is declared null and void and Lauda loses this win. Lauda actually lost more points from these two incidents so Hunt takes the championship anyway.

1977 – The notorious Hans Heyer failed to qualify for the race but started anyway and was disqualified after already retiring from the race. He is famously the only driver to have failed to qualify, failed to finish and been disqualified all in the same event. Lauda loses victory but keeps the championship.

1981 – This is a difficult one. The hydro-pneumatic Brabham BT51 was an ingenious design by Gordon Murray that was at the minimum ride-height when stationary to pass scrutineering, but went below it at speed. It was introduced in Argentina and was allowed due to political reasons (Brabham being Ecclestone’s team during the FISA/FOCA wars). After Argentina, the system was used by the rest of the teams now knowing it was legal. But it shouldn’t have been, so if every race after the Argentine Grand Prix is declared null and void, Alan Jones and Carlos Reutemann are tied on points with a win and a second each. As Reutemann would win if the South African Grand Prix (later declared a non-championship race, again due to the FISA/FOCA wars) was counted, or if only Argentina was declared null and void, I think I will award this championship to him, albeit it is unclear which version of events would happen.

1982 – In Brazil, Nelson Piquet won from Keke Rosberg, but both cars had been using ‘water-cooled brakes.’ Large tanks of waters were fitted to ‘cool the brakes’, but were really designed to keep the car above the minimum weight before the race, while the water would evaporate immediately, making the car illegal for the rest of the race, before it was topped up at the end, as this was allowed for ‘cooling fluids.’ Piquet and Rosberg were disqualified, but under the ‘correct’ rules the entire race should be removed from the history books, robbing Alain Prost of victory. In the next race in Long Beach, Gilles Villeneuve was disqualified from third place for an illegal double rear wing designed to get around the maximum size of a rear wing by putting two next to each other. Again, the race should not have counted at all, costing Lauda a win. Then Winkelhock was disqualified in Imola for being underweight, and Lauda likewise in Zolder. I don’t know why these cars were underweight so whether they count as cheating or not, but whether just the first two races, or all four, are removed, Didier Pironi takes the 1982 championship while Ferrari keep the constructors’ title.

1983 – There were a lot of disqualifications for underweight cars this year that will be ignored, as will the push-start in the pits and reversing in the pits because they don’t really count. But at the end of the season, Brabham appeared with supposed illegal ‘rocket fuel’ for the last three races which helped them to the championship. Nobody protested this at the time, much to the chagrin of Alain Prost who wanted Renault to do so, but nobody protested Crashgate at the time either so these three races will all be removed, and Prost takes the 1983 championship.

1984 – Tyrrell cheated all season in 1984 by running the car underweight for most of the race, but having a water tank which they topped up with water and lead in the final pitstop so that they would be legal for the scrutineering. Therefore, every race in which Tyrrell cheated should no longer count, and only the last three races of the season, after Tyrrell had been banned, do count. This gives Alain Prost the title with two wins to Lauda’s one, both on 18 points.

1988 – Benetton used illegal fuel in the 1988 Belgian Grand Prix and Thierry Boutsen and Alessandro Nannini were disqualified. Had the race been cancelled as a result, Alain Prost would actually win the championship instead of Ayrton Senna, who won the race.

1989 – In Montreal and Estoril, Stefan Johansson and Nigel Mansell respectively ignored a black flag, claiming not to have seen it, and were subsequently disqualified. Mansell even collided with Senna after being disqualified. I think these two races are worthy of being discounted as a result. Then in Suzuka, Prost deliberately crashed into Senna to stop him overtaking him and win the title. If all three races are removed from the history books, Boutsen, Berger and Nannini each lose a race win but Prost retains the championship.

1990 – Ayrton Senna crashed into Alain Prost deliberately at the first corner in Suzuka in a far more dangerous way than the year before. If the race is declared null and void, Nelson Piquet loses a win but Senna still takes the world championship.

1994 – If Adelaide is removed because of Michael Schumacher crashing into Damon Hill, he still wins the championship, but due to Benetton running illegal traction and launch control on the car all season, I think the whole of the 1994 season needs to be declared null and void and no champion crowned.

1997 – Michael Schumacher led Jacques Villeneuve by a point going into the final race of the season in Jerez, where he deliberately crashed into Villeneuve to try and take the title. It failed and Villeneuve beat him, with Schumacher disqualified from the entire season for his actions, but the correct procedure is actually just to remove the European Grand Prix entirely, thus reinstating Schumacher’s one point lead. So it is time to give Michael Schumacher, the rightful champion of 1997, his crown back.

1998 – Schumacher won the British Grand Prix while stationary in the pits, serving a stop-go penalty after he had crossed the line. How this was legal I don’t know, so this race is removed and Hakkinen still takes the title. I have not removed the Australian Grand Prix for McLaren’s extra brake pedal as I believe it was legal at the time and was just banned for the next race, like the Brabham fan car of 1978.

2004 – Williams and Toyota used illegal brake ducts in the Canadian Grand Prix, so with this race being removed, Michael Schumacher loses one win but keeps the championship.

2005 – BAR had an illegal second fuel tank on the car which would allow them to drop below the minimum weight during the race and pretend, in scrutineering, that the car was on zero fuel when it wasn’t. They were disqualified from Imola and banned for two races, but if the race had instead been cancelled, Alonso would still have won the title despite losing this race win.

2006 – Michael Schumacher deliberately stopped on track in qualifying at Rascasse in Monaco to ensure pole position, and was thrown to the back of the grid. Removing this race costs Alonso a victory, but not the championship.

2007 – McLaren cheated all season with ‘Spygate’ as they used secret information about the Ferrari car and lost all their constructors’ championship points as a result. But under the new rules, the entire season must also be declared null and void, apart from the first three races which took place before the meeting between Nigel Stepney and Mike Coughlan. Therefore, Alonso, Raikkonen and Hamilton finish level on points but Alonso is champion on countback, and McLaren are constructors’ champions.

2008 – After Renault cheated by making Nelson Piquet Jr crash deliberately in Singapore so Alonso would win, the entire race is removed from the championship standings and Felipe Massa is world champion of 2008.

2009 – In Australia, Lewis Hamilton let Jarno Trulli overtake behind the safety car, then McLaren lied to the stewards saying Trulli had overtaken Hamilton illegally and Hamilton was disqualified. If the race is removed, Button just about keeps his world championship.

2010 – At the German Grand Prix, Felipe Massa was told to let Fernando Alonso through for victory. This was during the time when team orders were illegal. Arguably, this is the most similar example to Crashgate as it was from a similar time and also constitutes race-fixing, and ironically it also involves Massa and Alonso. If this race is removed, Vettel remains the champion.

2013 – Mercedes were part of an illegal tyre test between the Spanish and Monaco Grand Prix. I have no idea how to solve this one as it wasn’t part of a specific race, but whether just Monaco, or the entire rest of the season, is cancelled, Sebastian Vettel is still world champion, as are Red Bull.

2019 – Ferrari probably used an illegal engine in the second half of the season, and when it was banned in a covered-up way for 2020 they lost a huge amount of performance. If the entire second half of the season is removed, Hamilton and Mercedes are still world champions.

2020 – Racing Point used illegal brake ducts at the start of the year when they copied the Mercedes of the previous year. If the first three races are cancelled as a result, Hamilton and Mercedes are still world champions.

2021 – The Abu Dhabi Grand Prix definitely has to be cancelled as the race organisers ignored their own rules, but then Verstappen is still champion on countback. Arguably the whole season needs to be eliminated because Red Bull cheated by exceeding the budget cap, but their complete lack of punishment for that looks likely to cause the same thing to happen for many years to come.

So there is my reconstructed history of Formula 1, designed mainly to give an idea of the precedent that would be set if Felipe Massa wins this case for going back and claiming that results in the past should have been different, and therefore monetary compensation is required. The entire suggestion that Singapore 2008 should be expunged from the history books because of Crashgate is nonsense in my opinion, and I don’t see how Massa has any claim to the championship.

Under this system, Alain Prost and Michael Schumacher are now the equal-most successful drivers on seven titles each, with Hamilton down to six.