LONDON // A Formula One appeal court has rejected McLaren's bid to reinstate Lewis Hamilton as the winner of the Belgian Grand Prix, leaving the Briton just one point clear in the championship with four races remaining.
The governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) said in a statement the court of five judges "concluded that the appeal is inadmissible" after hearing Hamilton give his version of events in a Paris court yesterday.
The decision means Hamilton will start Sunday's Singapore Grand Prix with 78 points to 77 for Ferrari's Brazilian Felipe Massa.
Had the appeal been successful, the 23-year-old Briton would have had a seven point advantage.
Stewards at the Sept 7 race in Spa-Francorchamps ruled that Hamilton had gained an advantage when he cut a chicane while duelling with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen for the lead in the closing stages.
They imposed a retrospective drive-through penalty, translated into 25 seconds added to Hamilton's total time, which dropped him from first to third. Massa, who had finished second, was awarded the win instead.
Hamilton told the court in Paris he had handed back the place according to the rules.
"At the moment, as I see it, I am one point ahead and that is how I approach the next race," he said yesterday.
*Reuters
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
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In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
West Asia Premiership
Dubai Hurricanes 58-10 Dubai Knights Eagles
Dubai Tigers 5-39 Bahrain
Jebel Ali Dragons 16-56 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Pari
Produced by: Clean Slate Films (Anushka Sharma, Karnesh Sharma) & KriArj Entertainment
Director: Prosit Roy
Starring: Anushka Sharma, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Ritabhari Chakraborty, Rajat Kapoor, Mansi Multani
Three stars
'The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting up a Generation for Failure'
Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, Penguin Randomhouse
