McLaren & Lewis Hamilton:attend the hearing in the Afternoon

PARIS — Lewis Hamilton and his bosses at McLaren attended a hearing Monday at Formula One headquarters that will decide whether to reinstate his Belgian Grand Prix victory.

After three hours of meetings, Hamilton emerged and walked to the neighboring Hotel Crillon in central Paris surrounded by bodyguards, ignoring reporters' questions.

Lawyers for McLaren, Ferrari and the FIA presented their arguments at the morning session before breaking for lunch. The hearing was to resume in the afternoon, with the ruling expected to be announced Tuesday.

The hearing follows the McLaren team's appeal of a 25-second time penalty handed to Hamilton at Spa earlier this month when the British driver was judged to have gained an advantage by cutting a chicane on his way to victory.

After the penalty, the win was awarded to Hamilton's main championship rival Felipe Massa of Ferrari, while Hamilton was bumped down to third. Hamilton's lead over Massa in the drivers' standings is now down to one point after last weekend's Italian GP.

If he wins the appeal, Hamilton's F1 championship lead will be increased to seven points with four races after he regains four points and Massa loses two.

Hamilton flies to Singapore on Tuesday ahead of F1's first-ever night race Sunday.

"All we can do is present the facts," McLaren chief executive Martin Whitmarsh said Sunday. "We have just got to present the data and whatever the outcome is, that is the outcome."

Three judges appointed to the International Court of Appeal will decide whether McLaren's appeal is justified.

Hamilton was dueling with Massa's teammate Kimi Raikonnen at the closing stages of the Belgian GP and cut across the Bus Stop chicane to overtake the Finnish driver.

Hamilton immediately allowed Raikonnen to reclaim the lead before overtaking him at the next corner for the eventual win.

The judges must decide if Hamilton sufficiently surrendered the advantage he had gained when cutting the chicane.

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Lewis Hamilton V/s Kimi Raikkonen-SPA Francorchamps-Video

Initial part of the race...and the initial battle


Final Controversial part(cameraview top/helicopter)

Hamilton stripped of his victory:placed 3rd by the race stewards

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was stripped of a dramatic victory in the Belgian Grand Prix after stewards handed him a 25-second post-race penalty.

The Englishman was demoted to third place behind Ferrari's Felipe Massa and BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld.

He was accused of gaining an advantage by cutting the Spa circuit's Bus Stop chicane in a late-race battle with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.

Hamilton's lead over Massa in the title chase has been cut by two points.

Massa's team-mate Raikkonen, who crashed out of second place shortly after losing the lead, is 19 points adrift behind Hamilton.

Before the penalty, Hamilton had extended his lead over the Brazilian to eight points, with Raikkonen effectively out of the running on 23.

On the track, Hamilton had survived a frantic last two laps in a late shower of rain to apparently score a superb win.

Hamilton lost the lead to Raikkonen with an early spin but fought back in the closing laps to re-take the lead with two laps to go.

In a dramatic climax on a soaking track, Hamilton passed Raikkonen, lost the lead again with a spin, re-took it and then saw Raikkonen crash.

I was praying for rain - I wanted it to come because I knew how to deal with it

Lewis Hamilton

In a chaotic final couple of laps, Heidfeld jumped from eighth to third place on the track with what he called a "hero or zero decision" to come in for wet-weather tyres with two laps to go.

Renault's Fernando Alonso chose the same tactic a lap later and it secured the double world champion the fourth place he had held for much of the race.

"It was an experience and a half," Hamilton said before his penalty was announced. "I was praying for rain. I wanted it to come because I knew how to deal with it.

"The heavens opened and I saw Kimi begin to back off and to brake a bit earlier.

"I was going reasonably wide at Turn 12 but Rosberg spun and went off where I was coming back on. I went over the grass. It was incredibly tough.

"Kimi pushed me wide. I was a little bit ahead. I was outside on Turn One, I had no room and he basically pushed me so I went on the escape route.

"So I let him past, then got in his tow and he was ducking and diving left and right but I managed to get past him and I was pretty much gone from there."
Lewis Hamilton lost his lead in the Belgian Grand Prix with this spin on lap two
Hamilton fought back from this early spin to win in dramatic fashion

It was another superb performance in the wet from Hamilton, who has inherited Michael Schumacher's mantle as Formula One's rain master.

But for a long time it had looked as if the Englishman had tossed away his chance of victory on the daunting Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

The race started with the track wet in the immediate vicinity of the pits but dry on the majority of the lap.

Hamilton, along with every other driver in the race other than Renault's Nelson Piquet Jr, chose dry tyres.

But the conditions caught him out at the start of lap two, and he spun turning into the La Source hairpin.

The mistake put Raikkonen right behind him and the Ferrari driver simply drove past on the straight after the Eau Rouge esses.

It was a critical error from Hamilton, who was fuelled to make his first pit stop a lap earlier than Raikkonen.

606: DEBATE
I don't believe it - Raikkonen didn't finish so there was no advantage ultimately

S92

That meant his main hope of holding off the Ferrari driver was to build a lead big enough before his stop on lap 10 that Raikkonen could not close it on his extra lap.

Instead, although Hamilton shadowed Raikkonen to the first stops, he could not pass him.

Hamilton's hopes were further dented when he came out from his pit stop right behind his slower team-mate Heikki Kovalainen, who was battling for position with Kubica.

By the time he had cleared Kovalainen and Kubica five laps later, Raikkonen was five seconds ahead, a lead he was able to maintain comfortably to the second round of stops.

The two men both made their final stops on lap 25 and on the harder tyre Hamilton was able to close on the Ferrari.

The 23-year-old shaved about half a second a lap out of Raikkonen's lead and was within two seconds of the Ferrari by lap 31.
Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari is carried back to the pits after the Finn's crash on the penultimate lap of the Belgian Grand Prix
Raikkonen's hopes of victory - and probably the title - ended with a crash

He was unable to make much more of an impression until the predicted late shower of rain arrived with about five laps to go.

Within minutes, the back of the circuit was soaking, while it remained dry in the vicinity of the pits - not an unusual situation at a track renowned for its capricious weather.

Hamilton closed right up to Raikkonen on lap 42 but he fatefully cut the Bus Stop chicane after pulling out of a passing move at the end of the lap.

He then chased Raikkonen down the pit straight and passed the Ferrari going into the La Source hairpin at the start of lap 43.

But that was not the end of the battle.

When the two men reached the wet part of the track halfway around the lap, Hamilton slid off, handing the lead back to Raikkonen, who almost immediately lost it again by sliding off himself.

The Finn then lost control going through the fast Blanchimont corner, and speared into the wall.

But the drama had not finished, and was merely switched to the stewards' office.

Their decision is likely to be greeted with cynicism as it makes the championship battle dramatically closer at a time when Hamilton was beginning to look like he was inching towards his first title.

2008 Belgian gp-SPA Francorchamps-Race results

1	22	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	44	Winner	1	10
2	2	nick Heidfeld	Ferrari	44	+14.4 secs	2	8
3	3	Lewis Hamilton	Mclaren Mercedes	44	+25.8 secs	5	6(penalised +25sec)
4	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	44	+28.9 secs	6	5
5	15	Sebastian Vettel	STR-Ferrari	44	+29.0 secs	10	4
6	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	44	+29.4 secs	8	3
7	14	Sebastien Bourdais	STR-Ferrari	44	+31.1 secs	9	2
8	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	44	+56.5 secs	13	1
9	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	44	+57.2 secs	7
10	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	43	+1 Lap	3
11	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull-Renault	43	+1 Lap	14
12	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	43	+1 Lap	15
13	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Ferrari	43	+1 Lap	18
14	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota	43	+1 Lap	19
15	16	Jenson Button	Honda	43	+1 Lap	17
16	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	43	+1 Lap	11
17	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Ferrari	43	+1 Lap	20
18	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	42	+2 Laps	4
Ret	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	19	+25 Laps	16
Ret	6	Nelsinho Piquet	Renault	13	+31 Laps	12

To sponsor the race results
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2008 Belgian gp-SPA Francorchamps-Qualifying Session results

1	22	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren-Mercedes	1:46.887	1:46.088	1:47.338	12
2	2	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1:46.873	1:46.391	1:47.678	16
3	23	Heikki Kovalainen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:46.812	1:46.037	1:47.815	16
4	1	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:46.960	1:46.298	1:47.992	14
5	3	Nick Heidfeld	BMW Sauber	1:47.419	1:46.311	1:48.315	18
6	5	Fernando Alonso	Renault	1:47.154	1:46.491	1:48.504	18
7	10	Mark Webber	Red Bull-Renault	1:47.270	1:46.814	1:48.736	19
8	4	Robert Kubica	BMW Sauber	1:47.093	1:46.494	1:48.763	20
9	14	Sebastien Bourdais	STR-Ferrari	1:46.777	1:46.544	1:48.951	19
10	15	Sebastian Vettel	STR-Ferrari	1:47.152	1:46.804	1:50.319	16
11	11	Jarno Trulli	Toyota	1:47.400	1:46.949		13
12	6	Nelsinho Piquet	Renault	1:47.052	1:46.965		15
13	12	Timo Glock	Toyota	1:47.359	1:46.995		13
14	9	David Coulthard	Red Bull-Renault	1:47.132	1:47.018		15
15	7	Nico Rosberg	Williams-Toyota	1:47.503	1:47.429		12
16	17	Rubens Barrichello	Honda	1:48.153			9
17	16	Jenson Button	Honda	1:48.211			9
18	20	Adrian Sutil	Force India-Ferrari	1:48.226			9
19	8	Kazuki Nakajima	Williams-Toyota	1:48.268			9
20	21	Giancarlo Fisichella	Force India-Ferrari	1:48.447			9

SPA-Francorchamps-Past Winners

Year -----Driver---- Constructor----- Location
2007 Kimi Räikkönen Ferrari Spa-Francorchamps
2006 Not held 2005 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes Spa-Francorchamps
2004 Kimi Räikkönen McLaren-Mercedes Spa-Francorchamps
2003 Not held 2002 Michael Schumacher Ferrari Spa-Francorchamps
2001 Michael Schumacher Ferrari Spa-Francorchamps
2000 Mika Häkkinen McLaren-Mercedes Spa-Francorchamps
1999 David Coulthard McLaren-Mercedes Spa-Francorchamps
1998 Damon Hill Jordan-Mugen-Honda Spa-Francorchamps
1997 Michael Schumacher Ferrari Spa-Francorchamps
1996 Michael Schumacher Ferrari Spa-Francorchamps
1995 Michael Schumacher Benetton-Renault Spa-Francorchamps
1994 Damon Hill Williams-Renault Spa-Francorchamps
1993 Damon Hill Williams-Renault Spa-Francorchamps
1992 Michael Schumacher Benetton-Ford Spa-Francorchamps
1991 Ayrton Senna McLaren-Honda Spa-Francorchamps
1990 Ayrton Senna McLaren-Honda Spa-Francorchamps
1989 Ayrton Senna McLaren-Honda Spa-Francorchamps
1988 Ayrton Senna McLaren-Honda Spa-Francorchamps
1987 Alain Prost McLaren-TAG Spa-Francorchamps
1986 Nigel Mansell Williams-Honda Spa-Francorchamps
1985 Ayrton Senna Lotus-Renault Spa-Francorchamps
1984 Michele Alboreto Ferrari Zolder
1983 Alain Prost Renault Spa-Francorchamps
1982 John Watson McLaren-Ford Zolder
1981 Carlos Reutemann Williams-Ford Zolder
1980 Didier Pironi Ligier-Ford Zolder
1979 Jody Scheckter Ferrari Zolder
1978 Mario Andretti Lotus-Ford Zolder
1977 Gunnar Nilsson Lotus-Ford Zolder
1976 Niki Lauda Ferrari Zolder
1975 Niki Lauda Ferrari Zolder Report
1974 Emerson Fittipaldi McLaren-Ford Nivelles
1973 Jackie Stewart Tyrrell-Ford Zolder
1972 Emerson Fittipaldi Lotus-Ford Nivelles
1971 Not held
1970 Pedro Rodríguez BRM Spa-Francorchamps
1969 Not held 1968 Bruce McLaren McLaren-Ford Spa-Francorchamps
1967 Dan Gurney Eagle-Weslake Spa-Francorchamps
1966 John Surtees Ferrari Spa-Francorchamps
1965 Jim Clark Lotus-Climax Spa-Francorchamps
1964 Jim Clark Lotus-Climax Spa-Francorchamps
1963 Jim Clark Lotus-Climax Spa-Francorchamps
1962 Jim Clark Lotus-Climax Spa-Francorchamps
1961 Phil Hill Ferrari Spa-Francorchamps
1960 Jack Brabham Cooper-Climax Spa-Francorchamps
1959 Not held
1958 Tony Brooks Vanwall Spa-Francorchamps
1957 Not held
1956 Peter Collins Ferrari Spa-Francorchamps
1955 Juan Manuel Fangio Mercedes-Benz Spa-Francorchamps
1954 Juan Manuel Fangio Maserati Spa-Francorchamps
1953 Alberto Ascari Ferrari Spa-Francorchamps
1952 Alberto Ascari Ferrari Spa-Francorchamps
1951 Giuseppe Farina Alfa Romeo Spa-Francorchamps
1950 Juan Manuel Fangio Alfa Romeo Spa-Francorchamps
1949 Louis Rosier Talbot Spa-Francorchamps
1948 Not held
1947 Jean-Pierre Wimille Alfa Romeo Spa-Francorchamps
1946 Eugène Chaboud Delage Spa-Francorchamps
1940 - 1945 Not held
1939 Hermann Lang Mercedes-Benz Spa-Francorchamps
1938 Not held 1937 Rudolf Hasse Auto Union Spa-Francorchamps
1936 Not held 1935 Rudolf Caracciola Mercedes-Benz Spa-Francorchamps
1934 René Dreyfus Bugatti
1933 Tazio Nuvolari Maserati Spa-Francorchamps
1932 Not held
1931 William Grover-Williams Caberto Conelli Bugatti Spa-Francorchamps
1930 Louis Chiron Bugatti Spa-Francorchamps
1926 - 192 Not held
1925 Antonio Ascari Alfa Romeo Spa-Francorchamps