Stewards strip Hamilton of Spa victory

Sunday, 07 September 2008 17:22

Lewis Hamilton has had his Belgian Grand Prix victory overturned by the stewards, handing the win to title rival Felipe Massa, who finished second on the road.

Hamilton was given a 25-second penalty for cutting the Bus Stop chicane during his wheel-to-wheel battle for the lead with Kimi Raikkonen during the closing laps.

Although the McLaren driver appeared to lift off and was repassed by Raikkonen along the start/finish straight, the stewards ruled that he had gained an advantage by short-cutting the circuit.

"The stewards, having received a report from the race director and having met with the drivers and team managers involved...determine a breach of the regulations has been committed by the competitor and impose the penalty referred to," said an FIA statement.

Hamilton was deemed to have "cut the chicane and gained an advantage", thereby breaching Article 30.3(a) of the sporting regulations and Appendix L chapter 4 Article 2 (g) of the International Sporting Code.

With 25 seconds added to his race time, Hamilton has dropped to third in the classification behind BMW Sauber’s Nick Heidfeld.

The decision brings about a six-point swing in Massa's favour in the championship standings, reducing Hamilton's lead from eight to two points.

Raikkonen crashed out of the race on the penultimate lap and is now 19 points behind Hamilton with five rounds remaining.


Revised Belgian Grand Prix result

1.  MASSA         Ferrari       

2.  HEIDFELD      BMW           

3.  HAMILTON      McLaren*      
4.  ALONSO        Renault       
5.  VETTEL        Toro Rosso    
6.  KUBICA        BMW           
7.  BOURDAIS      Toro Rosso    
8.  WEBBER        Red Bull
9.  GLOCK         Toyota*      
10. KOVALAINEN    McLaren       
11. COULTHARD     Red Bull      

12. ROSBERG       Williams      

13. SUTIL         Force India   
14. NAKAJIMA      Williams      

15. BUTTON        Honda        

16. TRULLI        Toyota        

17. FISICHELLA    Force India  

R.  RAIKKONEN     Ferrari       

R.  BARRICHELLO   Honda         

R.  PIQUET        Renault       

*25-second time penalty


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