The FIA's International Court of Appeal has decided to reject the McLaren team's appeal of its Belgian Grand Prix penalty, declaring it inadmissable.

The sanction given at Spa-Francorchamps was a drive-through penalty, which cannot be appealed. When such a decision is taken by the race stewards after the conclusion of a race, 25 seconds are added to the driver's total running time as a substitute.

The ICA considers that the 25-second penalty replaces the drive-through option, and therefore cannot be appealed as well.

"In view of the foregoing, it follows that there is no need to examine the substance of the appeal submitted by McLaren," reads today's decision.

Hamilton cut through a chicane to avoid contact with Kimi Raikkonen during the closing stages of the Belgian race, passing ahead of the Ferrari driver. He immediately pulled back to give the lead position back to Raikkonen, just before overtaking him again at the following corner. The stewards considered the move improper.

Now that the matter has been closed, Felipe Massa is confirmed as the winner of the Belgian Grand Prix, while Lewis Hamilton's victory is transformed into a third-place result. The move in the final positions cost Hamilton four championship points, while Massa gained two.


Statement from the FIA:

At the Grand Prix of Belgium, run on 7 September 2008, and counting towards the 2008 FIA Formula One World Championship, the Stewards of the meeting imposed a drive-through penalty upon the driver of car No.22, Lewis Hamilton, for a breach of Article 30.3 (a) of the 2008 FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations and Appendix L, Chapter 4, Article 2 (g) of the International Sporting Code.

As the drive-through penalty was imposed at the end of the race, 25 seconds were added to the driver's elapsed race time in accordance with Article 16.3 of the FIA 2008 Formula One Sporting Regulations.

Article 152 of the International Sporting Code states that drive-through penalties are "not susceptible to appeal."

The competitor Vodafone McLaren Mercedes appealed the Steward's decision before the International Court of Appeal in a hearing in Paris on September 22nd.

Having heard the explanations of the parties the Court has concluded that the appeal is inadmissible."

to quote, 1 point makes all the difference =)

Ron Dennis is to step down as team principal of McLaren and hand over to current number two Martin Whitmarsh ahead of the new Formula One season.

Dennis, who has run McLaren since 1981, will stay on as chief executive of the McLaren Group of companies.

Whitmarsh will take over the running of McLaren's F1 operation on 1 March.

"It's time for Martin to take over. It is 100% my decision - this is a job he will embrace and from now most race-day decisions will be his," said Dennis.

"This is the right time for this decision. But don't see this as some sort of retirement because it is the exact opposite.

"The first thing I must do is raise my own game because everybody realises this is a tough period in which to work.

"We are a very diverse organisation and we have a number of other projects ongoing, including the development of our road car, and that is going to be a real challenge.

"I will still be full executive chairman. But it's time, and it's absolutely 100% my decision. It's what I want to do." added the 61-year-old.

Whitmarsh, 51, has been at McLaren since 1989, when he took over as head of operations.

And he said: "It doesn't feel like a bombshell to me - Ron has reached this point and I was keen for him to dictate a timeframe - but I certainly didn't push him.

"I've worked with Ron for 20 years and he has had an incredible career, but Formula One is changing and evolving and so is this business."

McLaren say they face a race against time to match the pace of their rivals ahead of the opening Grand Prix of the 2009 Formula One season on 29 March.

World champion Lewis Hamilton's car has performed poorly in pre-season testing.

Team boss Martin Whitmarsh said: "We are working hard to resolve a performance shortfall."

Norbert Haug, engine partner Mercedes' motorsport boss, added: "We are definitely not fast enough and not competitive enough to aim for wins."