Lewis Hamilton produced one of his most daring performances to win the Belgian Grand Prix yesterday, only to have victory taken away from him by a hugely controversial retrospective punishment by the race stewards.

Two hours after Hamilton had toasted his triumph with champagne on the podium after one of Formula One’s classic finishes, the British McLaren Mercedes driver - he had been celebrating his fifth win of the season - was stunned to learn that instead of an eight-point lead over Felipe Massa in the drivers’ championship, his advantage had been cut to two points after he had been relegated to third place and the Brazilian awarded victory.

Whether the stewards’ decision was right or wrong will be debated for months, especially if it proves to be the decisive intervention in a championship battle that looks to be going to the wire with five grands prix to go.

McLaren have notified the FIA, the governing body, that they intend to appeal against the 25-second drive-through penalty imposed on Hamilton and there was bitterness among some team members, who believe that their man is being picked on and that Ferrari drivers get off more lightly whenever a controversy erupts.

The FIA moved quickly to deny the claims, a team official saying that such a notion was “entirely risible” and appealing for people to examine the incident in a “calm and objective” way.

The critical moment came as Hamilton attacked Kimi Raikkonen, Massa’s Ferrari teammate, at the Bus Stop chicane three laps from the finish. The onset of rain had thrown Hamilton a risky chance for glory, but he needed to pass “the Iceman”, who had led from lap two when Hamilton, who started from pole, spun at La Source.

The leaders entered the chicane side by side as their tyres spewed grey smoke. After banging wheels with Raikkonen, Hamilton cut across the inside of the chicane and emerged on to the pit straight ahead of the world champion. In accordance with the rules, he braked to allow Raikkonen to pass him, before attacking for a second time, overtaking Raikkonen on the inside. Raikkonen got back ahead of Hamilton but then crashed out on the penultimate lap as the drivers struggled with dry tyres on a wet track.

The most regrettable aspect of the affair from Hamilton’s point of view is that the climax of the grand prix produced arguably his finest performance in a Formula One car as he went on the attack in the wet, risking a safe eight points for second place, in an all-out bid for glory.

Having spun while leading from pole at the start of the second lap, he was determined to take the fight to Raikkonen as the Finn struggled when rain turned Spa into an ice-rink and Hamilton dazzled as never before. Now he has to make sure that this decision does not get him down as he chases the title.

Recently, the McLaren driver and his father and manager, Anthony, have talked about playing the percentages and trying to build consecutive points finishes to secure the drivers’ championship. But that philosophy went straight out of his windowless racing car when he smelt blood with three laps to go. First, he attacked at the chicane, then got ahead on the straight. Then, after Raikkonen hit him at Turn 1, he drove away only to run wide and concede the lead again.

In the space of a breathless few minutes of racing, Raikkonen was overtaken by Hamilton for a second time before the world champion spun his car and hit the tyre wall, his steering wheel spinning viciously in his hands as his race ended in destruction.

We should not forget that it took two to tango yesterday. While Hamilton’s commitment and attacking flair thrilled the crowd, so, too, did Raikkonen’s response. The Iceman is the ultimate long-game player, but on this occasion he was like a heavyweight boxer trading punches with Hamilton, before ending up dazed on the canvas. In the end, his decision to mix it with the British championship leader proved disastrous because, penalty or not for the McLaren driver, Raikkonen left Spa with nothing. With five races left, he is now 18 points off the lead in the championship and, realistically, out of the running.

That leaves Massa as the principal threat to Hamilton, who, despite his disappointment, must remain favour-ite to win the world title at only the second time of asking. The Brazilian did not have one of his better days. After starting alongside Hamilton on the front of the grid, he drove cautiously through the Eau Rouge sequence thinking - or so he claimed afterwards - that it was wetter than it was, and was then jumped by Raikkonen, his teammate.

Massa then circulated in third place, driving within himself, and admitted that he was delighted to be effectively given the runners-up position owing to Raikkonen’s misfortune. He will have been even more delighted, or perhaps embarrassed, to have subsequently been left in first place by Hamilton’s demotion. There is a lot of luck involved in Formula One and Massa has had his share of the bad stuff this season - think of his engine failing in Hungary three laps from glory - so he may be excused this most unexpected of victories.

Behind him, Nick Heidfeld, in the BMW Sauber, was one of four drivers who took the gamble of switching from dry to wet tyres with only two laps left as the rain came down. He then tore through the field and climbed from seventh to claim third place, later reclassified as second, with Fernando Alonso, of Renault, fourth.

Details from Spa

(44 laps): 1, F Massa (Br, Ferrari) 1hr 22min 59.394sec; 2, N Heidfeld (Ger, BMW Sauber) at 9.383sec behind; 3, *L Hamilton (GB, McLaren Mercedes) 10.539; 4, F Alonso (Sp, Renault) 14.478; 5, S Vettel (Ger, Toro Rosso Ferrari) 14.576; 6, R Kubica (Pol, BMW Sauber) 15.037; 7, S Bourdais (Fr, Toro Rosso Ferrari) 16.735; 8, M Webber (Aus, Red Bull Renault) 42.776; 9, T Glock (Ger, Toyota) 67.045; 10, H Kovalainen (Fin, McLaren Mercedes); 11, D Coulthard (GB, Red Bull Renault); 12, N Rosberg (Ger, Williams Toyota); 13, A Sutil (Ger, Force India Ferrari); 14, K Nakajima (Japan, Williams Toyota); 15, J Button (GB, Honda); 16, J Trulli (It, Toyota); 17, G Fisichella (It, Force India Ferrari) all 1 lap behind; 18, K Raikkonen (Fin, Ferrari) 2 laps. Retired: 19, R Barrichello (Br, Honda) 19 laps completed; 20, N Piquet Jr (Br, Renault) 13 laps. * 25sec penalty for impeding Raikkonen

Fastest lap: Raikkonen 1min 47.930 (lap 24).

Qualifying: 1, Hamilton 1min 47.338sec; 2, Massa 1:47.678; 3, Kovalainen 1:47.815; 4, Raikkonen 1:47.992; 5, Heidfeld 1:48.315; 6, Alonso 1:48.504; 7, Webber 1:48.736; 8, Kubica 1:48.763; 9, Bourdais 1:48.951; 10, Vettel 1:50.319. Eliminated after second session: 11, Trulli 1:46.46.949; 12, Piquet 1:46.965; 13, Glock 1:46.995; 14, Coulthard 1:47.018; 15, Rosberg 1:47.429. Eliminated after first session: 16, Barrichello 1:48.153; 17, Button 1:48.211; 18, Sutil 1:48.226; 19, Nakajima 1:48.268; 20, Fisichella 1:48.447.

World Championship positions

Drivers: 1, Hamilton 76pts; 2, Massa 74; 3, Kubica 58; 4, Raikkonen 57; 5, Heidfeld 49; 6, Kovalainen 43; 7, Trulli 26; 8, Alonso 23; 9, Webber 19; 10, Glock 15; 11, Piquet 13; 12, Vettel 13; 13, Barrichello 11; 14, Rosberg 9; 15, Nakajima 8; 16, Coulthard 6; 17, Bourdais 4; 18, Button 3.

Constructors: 1, Ferrari 131; 2, McLaren Mercedes 119; 3, BMW Sauber 107; 4, Toyota 41; 5, Renault 36; 6, Red Bull Renault 25; 7, Williams Toyota 17; 8, Scuderia Toro Rosso Ferrari 17; 9, Honda 14.

Grands Prix to come: Sept 14: Italian GP (Monza). Sept 28: Singapore GP. Oct 12: Japanese GP (Fuji). Oct 19: Chinese GP (Shanghai). Nov 2: Brazilian GP (Interlagos).