Hamilton stripped of victory and demoted to third at Spa

LEWIS Hamilton was stripped of victory following yesterday's Belgian Grand Prix after stewards imposed a 25-second penalty on the McLaren driver.

Hamilton had taken the chequered flag after a dramatic conclusion to the race at Spa but a stewards' inquiry was launched into an incident on lap 42 of the 44-lap race.

Two circuits from the end, Hamilton made a move on entry into the Bus Stop chicane, and collided with Kimi Raikkonen as the pair battled for the lead.

That pushed the Briton on to the run-off area and he resumed in the lead but, fearing an instant penalty from the race stewards, he then let Raikkonen through.

However, on reviewing footage of the race they decided to punish Hamilton anyway. And Raikkonen later crashed out as the wet weather took its toll. The effect of the stewards' decision meant victory was awarded to Ferrari's Felipe Massa, with Nick Heidfeld (BMW) promoted to second place and Hamilton falling to third with a two-point championship over the Brazilian.

McLaren have registered their intent to appeal, but FIA rules state that is not possible in relation to a drive-through penalty. The matter could now revert to the FIA Court of Appeal who will determine whether there is a case to answer with regard to McLaren's protest.

A consolation for Hamilton will be that Raikkonen failed to finish, and it looks increasingly like a straight head-to-head scrap for the title between the current top two in the drivers' championship race.

McLaren looked to have clinched a fitting triumph to mark the 40th anniversary of their first Formula One victory at this track, under founder Bruce McLaren in 1968.

Hamilton, who started from pole, recovered from an early spin and steadily closed the gap on Raikkonen before the pair engaged in their thrilling tussle for the lead. With six laps remaining the rain started to slowly fall, playing into Hamilton's hands. Within a heartbeat of allowing Raikkonen back in front down the start-finish straight after their Bus Stop collision, Hamilton attacked again, and passed at La Source.

The rain then scythed down and from then on the rest of the lap became a lottery. Hamilton ran wide, allowing Raikkonen back in front, but moments later Raikkonen slid off into a wall and out of the race. Hamilton then tip-toed around the track for the last lap, punching the air when he crossed the line.

Massa came home second, with Heidfeld taking advantage of the mayhem to cross the finish line in third. Fernando Alonso took fourth place in his Renault, followed by Sebastian Vettel for Toro Rosso, Kubica for BMW Sauber, Sebastien Bourdais in his Toro Rosso and Toyota's Timo Glock, who was later handed a 25-second time penalty after ignoring yellow flags late on.

That resulted in the German losing his single point, after finishing in eighth place. Red Bull's Mark Webber was promoted to take Glock's point, while David Coulthard finished 10th.