Hamilton pays heavy penalty

TWO hours after jubilantly believing he had won his fifth race this year at the Belgian Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton saw his victory overturned and replaced with a retrospective third-placed finish.

Hamilton had left the track thinking he had taken maximum points and stretched his lead in the drivers’ championship to eight points before the race stewards intervened.

The trio of Nicholas Deschaux, Surinder Thatti and Yves Bacquelaine imposed a retrospective 25-second drive-through penalty against the McLaren star.