McLaren have confirmed they will appeal the controversial decision to strip Lewis Hamilton of victory in Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix.

The Briton was demoted from first to third after receiving a retrospective 25-second drive-through penalty that meant a potential world championship lead of eight points was cut to two over the eventual race winner, Felipe Massa.

The matter will now go before the International Court of Appeal, who will initially determine whether McLaren's protest is legal. If there is a case to answer, they will then assess the verdict of the three-man panel of stewards who handed down the penalty.

Martin Whitmarsh, the chief executive officer of McLaren, said: "Following our decision to register our intention to appeal the penalty handed out to Lewis Hamilton by the FIA stewards at the 2008 Belgian Grand Prix, we hereby confirm we have now lodged notice of appeal."

The incident occurred at the end of lap 42 of the 44-lap race, with Hamilton cutting the final corner after being blocked by Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen as he attempted to pass the Finn around the outside. Returning to the Spa track along the start-finish straight, the 23-year-old temporarily held the lead before correctly handing it back to Raikkonen down the pit straight.

Timing sheets indicate Raikkonen crossed the start-finish line 0.6sec ahead of Hamilton, with further data showing the 23-year-old was also 6km/h slower at that point. Hamilton then filed behind Raikkonen, before legitimately passing him again on the run down to the first corner.

In wet conditions, the lead then changed hands twice more on the penultimate lap prior to Raikkonen spinning into a wall, handing Hamilton the win that was taken away by the stewards two hours later.

"In the closing stages of the race I was catching Kimi consistently, lap by lap, and with three laps remaining I got close enough to attempt to overtake him on the entry to the last chicane," Hamilton said. "I managed to get slightly ahead of him in the braking area for the first apex of the chicane. He fought back approaching the second apex but, in doing so, he left no room for me on the inside line.

"The only way for me to avoid a collision was therefore to cut inside the second apex. I came out of the second apex in front of Kimi and so I momentarily lifted-off on the straight, to ensure Kimi got back in front.

"The team also came on the radio and instructed me to allow Kimi to re-pass, which I had already done. As a result, Kimi crossed the start-finish line ahead of me.

"After allowing Kimi to completely re-pass, I crossed from the left side of the track to the right side of the track, passing behind Kimi in the process. I then attacked Kimi on the inside of the first corner, and successfully out-braked him."

Whitmarsh added: "From the pit wall, we then asked Race Control to confirm they were comfortable Lewis had allowed Kimi to re-pass. They confirmed twice that they believed the position had been given back in a manner that was 'okay'.

"If Race Control had instead expressed any concern regarding Lewis's actions at that time, we would have instructed Lewis to allow Kimi to re-pass for a second time."