After an overnight flight from Paris, Lewis Hamilton arrived in Singapore yesterday for Formula One’s first night race this weekend, only to discover that his attempt to have his victory at the Belgian Grand Prix this month reinstated had failed. Hamilton was the “star witness” for McLaren Mercedes at a FIA International Court of Appeal hearing in the French capital on Monday into the team’s attempt to overturn his demotion by stewards at Spa-Francorchamps to third place, but his arguments and those of McLaren fell on deaf ears.

The five judges decided that the stewards in Belgium had imposed a “drive-through” penalty on Hamilton for gaining an advantage by cutting a chicane. This type of penalty, even applied retrospectively, cannot be appealed against, so the court threw out McLaren’s case without passing judgment on the detail of whether Hamilton had driven fairly.

The Briton put a brave face on a setback that has cost him six points in his drivers’ championship battle with Felipe Massa, the Ferrari driver whom he leads by a point with four races left. “People will probably expect me to be depressed about today’s result, but that isn’t me,” Hamilton said. “All I want to do is put this matter behind me and get on with what we drivers do best: racing each other.

“Overtaking is difficult and it feels great when you manage to pull off a great passing manoeuvre. If it pleases the spectators and TV viewers, it’s better still.”

The appeal by McLaren was risky, because it posed a distraction for Hamilton as he prepares for the climax of a tightly contested title race. Although his role in the appeal was underplayed, Hamilton’s homework for it was thorough — he was up to speed on a complex set of paperwork. While Hamilton was preparing his case, though, Massa will have been relaxing at home in Monaco.