Chicane-ery? Hamilton penalty makes Massa winner of Belgian GP

SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium -- Ferrari's Felipe Massa was declared the winner of Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix after Lewis Hamilton was penalized for cutting a corner during a late duel with world champion Kimi Raikkonen.

Hamilton crossed the line 14.4 seconds ahead of Ferrari's Massa in a dramatic finish that saw Raikkonen crash into a barrier, but the McLaren driver was penalized 25 seconds for an illegal maneuver.

Race stewards said in a statement that Hamilton "cut the chicane and gained an advantage" that allowed him to take the lead from Raikkonen in the rain-splashed finale.

The penalty demoted Hamilton to third, with BMW Sauber's Nick Heidfeld promoted to second.

McLaren could not immediately appeal the results but decided to launch an official complaint with the sport's international court of appeal. It was unclear when it would be heard.

The decision came almost three hours after Hamilton had been spraying champagne on friends and rivals to celebrate perhaps his most dramatic victory and a widening gap in the overall standings.

Instead of an eight-point edge, Hamilton now leads Massa 76-74 with five races remaining, beginning with the Italian Grand Prix in Monza next Sunday.

It was Massa's second straight victory after his win two weeks ago in Valencia, though, apart from briefly leading during a pit stop, he was never really in contention.

The incident that cost Hamilton came after rain soaked the course during the last three of 44 laps with most cars on dry-weather tires after the final pit stop.

In a furious battle for first, Hamilton ran wide across the circuit's closing chicane and cut a corner. He said Raikkonen forced his hand.

"He pushed me wide. I had no room," Hamilton said. "This is motor racing."

McLaren said in a statment that there was nothing illegal in Hamilton's move since he put himself behind Raikkonen's Ferrari afterward. "Having passed the lead back to Kimi, Lewis repositioned his car .... and outbraked him into the hairpin."

The stewards disagreed.