The FIA has rejected the appeal made by the McLaren team against the 25-second penalty that was imposed on Lewis Hamilton after the Belgian Grand Prix.

Despite winning the race, and celebrating victory on the podium, Hamilton was later stripped of victory after he was judged to have cut a chicane during a last-minute dice with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, who crashed before the end of the race.

The 25-second penalty relegated him to third place - and promoted Ferrari's Felipe Massa, his main title rival, to first place.

McLaren appealed the penalty on the grounds that Hamilton had gained no advantage from cutting the chicane, but the FIA refused to recognise the appeal.

According to the FIA's court of appeal, "drive-through penalties are not susceptible to appeal... Having heard the explanations of the parties the Court has concluded that the appeal is inadmissible."

The announcement means that Hamilton is just one Championship point ahead of Massa, with four races to go.