McLaren appeal Hamilton's Belgian penalty

McLaren appealed yesterday against a stewards' decision to strip their Formula One championship leader Lewis Hamilton of victory in Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix.

"We hereby confirm that we have now lodged notice of appeal," said the team's chief executive Martin Whitmarsh in a statement.

Formula One's governing body must still decide whether the appeal is admissible, however, and the controversy is sure to hang over next weekend's Italian Grand Prix at Monza.

Whitmarsh said Race Control at Spa had twice confirmed to McLaren on Sunday afternoon that they were comfortable with Hamilton's behaviour on the track, before the stewards opened their inquiry.

The 23-year-old Briton was given a retrospective drive-through, translated into 25 seconds added to his time, demoting him to third and slashing his championship lead to two points over Ferrari's race winner Felipe Massa.

The stewards ruled that Hamilton, who would have been eight points clear had he kept the win, gained an advantage when he cut the Bus Stop chicane while fighting Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen for the lead on a wet and slippery surface.

Hamilton allowed world champion Raikkonen to get back in front of him momentarily before again overtaking down the straight into the first corner.