Felipe Massa's crusade to right the wrongs of his 2008 Formula 1 title robbery could set a "very interesting" precedent, according to his former race engineer Rob Smedley.
The Brazilian is in the midst of a legal battle focused on the result of the Singapore Grand Prix that year.
In the first running of the race, Renault driver Nelson Piquet Jr. crashed intentionally in a bid to boost teammate Fernando Alonso's hopes of victory.
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Alonso went on to win the race and the ramifications of the crash led to team boss Flavio Briatore being banned for life.
More than a decade on, former F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone said the race result should have been scratched.
Ecclestone reportedly told Piquet Jr. to remain silent until after the end-of-season awards ceremony, at which point the results could not be changed.
Ecclestone chose not to investigate the matter to avoid damage to the sport's reputation.
Had the result been scrubbed, Massa would have won the F1 title after falling one point short behind Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton finished third for McLaren at the Marina Bay Street Circuit while Massa was outside the points in 13th.
Massa had been leading at the time of the accident but a calamitous pit stop ruined his race after he drove off with the fuel nozzle still attached.
Massa and Ferrari guru Smedley were a force in the late 2000s and early 2010s, winning multiple races and nearly clinching the world championship together.
Speaking on The Race F1 podcast, Smedley said Massa is well within his right to protest the result but wonders what might come of it.
"Everybody should have a personal right to pursue, within the bands of legality obviously, what they think is just – and that's the case with Felipe here," he continued.
"There's lots of different parties involved. We're starting to look back at the past. Where this will end up, I've got no idea.
"I keep a watching brief on it. That's kind of all I do, all I can do and all I want to do.
"So it's of interest, because in the scenario where it does get flipped, what does that open up at that point? In terms of sporting decisions, not only in F1 but in the past.
"That's not to say that's right or wrong. I'm not trying to fall on either side of the fence here, it's just a really interesting element of all of this.
"If there is a decision that favours what Felipe is going after, that will then be very, very interesting for how sport in general deals with past unjust decisions, let's say."
Smedley said he had no doubts that Piquet Jr. crashed on purpose, and those within the F1 paddock knew almost immediately too.
The crash took place at a simple, 90-degree left-hander where there have hardly been any incidents in the 15 years since.
"How you crash there, I've got no idea," said Smedley.
"I've got no idea how young Nelson crashed there. Well, we have got an idea of how he did it. I watched it live and I was watching it thinking 'Strange'.
"Then you watch the replays and by the third replay you think 'OK, I understand what's happened now'. It's simple to work out. It was obvious straight after what had happened.
"Then what the ramifications and the repercussions and how you gain justice and all the rest of it.
"I don't think there was anyone within any element of doubt, especially within my close circle, within Ferrari and the guys we were in touch with in the paddock.
"We looked at it and said 'Well yeah, that's pretty clear what happened there.'"
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