Felipe Massa is likely to skip the Brazilian Grand Prix this weekend, his home race, amid an ongoing legal battle with the sport.
Massa has challenged the result of the 2008 title, claiming that Lewis Hamilton’s trophy should be awarded to him after F1 chiefs did not act properly on a deliberate crash in Singapore that affected the standings.
He has not appeared in the paddock since hiring lawyers to represent him on the matter and looks set to continue watching from afar.
“The only thing I know is that F1 asked me not to go to the Monza race,” Massa told Motorsport.com. “I was also going to go to the Japan race [as ambassador] and I didn’t go.
“About Brazil, nothing was discussed, we haven’t had any contact since that moment before Monza until now, so…
“I would [only] go to the races as an ambassador. But I 100 per cent respect the [legal] situation that is happening at the moment, perhaps [to the point] of not going because of [all] that is happening.
“But there was no invitation and no conversation about my work as ambassador, so I don’t think I should participate.”