Hamilton awaits Spa outcome

After winning the race once on the track at Spa, the International Court of Appeal will assess whether a stewards' ruling stripping him of the win should be reversed.

Not for the first time in Formula One's recent tarnished history has such an unsatisfactory conclusion to an event been deployed.

But 48 hours after Hamilton was demoted from first to third on the back of a retrospective 25-second drive-through penalty, McLaren have decided to pursue an appeal.

The trouble is, no-one is exactly sure if there is a case to answer as Article 152 of the FIA's International Sporting Code states a drive-through penalty is 'not susceptible to appeal'.

McLaren will contend there are exceptional circumstances in this instance, and if they convince the ICA of such a fact, they will then seek to overturn the stewards' decision.

This latest affair centres around an incident at the end of lap 42 of what was a thrilling 44-lap race as the stewards deemed Hamilton 'cut a corner and gained an advantage'.

After attempting to pass Kimi Raikkonen around the outside on entry to the final chicane, Hamilton was forced to cut the corner.

Returning to the Spa track along the pit straight, the 23-year-old temporarily held the lead before correctly handing it back.

Timing sheets indicate Raikkonen crossed the start-finish line 0.6 seconds ahead of Hamilton, with further data showing the latter was also six kilometres per hour slower at that point.

Hamilton then filed behind Raikkonen, before legitimately passing Ferrari's reigning world champion again on the run down to the first corner La Source hairpin.

In wet conditions, the lead then changed hands twice more on the penultimate lap prior to Raikkonen spinning into a wall, handing Hamilton a win that was taken away by the stewards two hours later.

Describing the incident, Hamilton said: "In the closing stages of the race I was catching Kimi consistently, lap by lap, and with three laps remaining I got close enough to attempt to overtake him on the entry to the last chicane.

"I managed to get slightly ahead of him in the braking area for the first apex of the chicane.

"He fought back approaching the second apex, but, in doing so, he left no room for me on the inside line.

"The only way for me to avoid a collision was therefore to cut inside the second apex.

"I came out of the second apex in front of Kimi and so I momentarily lifted-off on the straight, to ensure Kimi got back in front.

"The team also came on the radio and instructed me to allow Kimi to re-pass, which I had already done. As a result, Kimi crossed the start-finish line ahead of me, and 6.7kmh quicker than me.

"After allowing Kimi to completely re-pass, I crossed from the left side of the track to the right side of the track, passing behind Kimi in the process.

"I then attacked Kimi on the inside of the first corner and successfully outbraked him."

If McLaren successfully argue their right to appeal, their case to reverse the result will then be strengthened by the apparent claim of race director Charlie Whiting.

McLaren F1 CEO Martin Whitmarsh said: "From the pit wall, we asked Race Control to confirm they were comfortable Lewis had allowed Kimi to re-pass.

"They confirmed twice that they believed the position had been given back in a manner that was 'okay'.

"If Race Control had instead expressed any concern regarding Lewis's actions at that time, we would have instructed Lewis to allow Kimi to re-pass for a second time."

The decision of the stewards - Nicholas Deschaux, Surinder Thatti and Yves Bacquelaine - has since caused uproar.

It has prompted leading figures such as three-times champions Niki Lauda and Sir Jackie Stewart to berate their verdict.

It has also fed the long-held theory that the world governing body, the FIA, are pro-Ferrari and anti-McLaren.

That has since been strenuously denied by one of the stewards, Kenyan Thatti, who said: "There was no conspiracy against anybody, McLaren included.

"We acted professionally and within the FIA rules."

But Formula One fans are up in arms, with even an internet petition available to sign that up until 5pm on Tuesday had attracted 23,000 signatures in just 36 hours, with the aim to present it to the FIA.

Contrast that with a petition calling for the removal of Mike Ashley and Dennis Wise from Newcastle United that has so far only attracted just over 5,000 signatures.