McLaren appeals penalty that cost Hamilton a win
WOKING, England -- McLaren appealed the time penalty that cost Lewis Hamilton the victory at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Race stewards penalized Hamilton 25 seconds for cutting across a chicane to overtake then-leader Kimi Raikkonen during the closing stages of Sunday's race. Hamilton re-emerged onto the track and allowed the Ferrari driver back into the lead before overtaking for good.
"From the pit wall, we then asked race control to confirm that they were comfortable that Lewis had allowed Kimi to re-pass, and they confirmed twice that they believed that the position had been given back in a manner that was 'OK,'" McLaren chief executive Martin Whitmarsh said Tuesday.
"If race control had instead expressed any concern regarding Lewis' actions at that time, we would have instructed Lewis to allow Kimi to re-pass for a second time."
The appeal will be heard by FIA's International Court of Appeal at the governing body's Paris headquarters. The FIA said Tuesday that a date had not been set, but the appeal would be heard before the Singapore GP on Sept. 28.
Hamilton was demoted to third place and Felipe Massa of Ferrari was upgraded to first. Instead of an eight-point edge, Hamilton still retains the lead a 76-74 margin with 50 more points at stake in the remaining five races. The next race is the Italian GP on Sunday.
Hamilton said he had no choice but to go off course to avoid a collision.
"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," Hamilton said. "I then attacked Kimi on the inside of the first corner, and successfully outbraked him."
Massa criticized Hamilton's race tactics.
"Anyone cutting a chicane has to fully restore the position and also any other eventual advantage gained. If Lewis had taken the chicane correctly, he would never have been able to pass Kimi on the very short straight that follows it," Massa said on Ferrari's official Web site. "Maybe if Lewis had waited and tried to pass on the next straight, that would have been a different matter."