McLaren confirm challenge

WOKING // FIA officials twice told McLaren-Mercedes that Lewis Hamilton had gained no advantage from missing a chicane as he battled with Kimi Raikkonen for the lead of the Belgian Grand Prix. The revelation came as the team confirmed they are to appeal the retrospective 25-second drive-through penalty awarded to Lewis Hamilton. The controversial decision led to Hamilton being demoted from first to third, came after Hamilton was judged to have gained an unfair advantage from cutting the Bus Stop chicane while he tussled with the Ferrari of Raikkonen.

The matter will now go before the International Court of Appeal, who will determine whether McLaren's protest is legal. If there is a case to answer, they will then assess the verdict of the three-man panel of stewards who handed down the penalty. The McLaren F1 chief executive Martin Whitmarsh said: "Following our decision to register our intention to appeal the penalty handed out to Lewis Hamilton by the FIA stewards at the 2008 Belgian Grand Prix, we hereby confirm we have now lodged notice of appeal."

Hamilton had passed Raikkonen by missing the chicance, but had allowed Raikkonen to retake him before passing him again at the next corner. Whitmarsh added: "We then 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."

* PA Sport