Hamilton begins appeal case in Paris

Lewis Hamilton is fighting in a Paris courtroom to get his Belgian Grand Prix victory back today when he testifies in front of the FIA's International Court of Appeal hearing.

The Briton was stripped of his Spa-Francorchamps win when the race stewards deemed that he had gained an unfair advantage by cutting a chicane near the end of the race as he fought for the lead against Kimi Raikkonen.

His McLaren team decided to appeal against the 25-second penalty that moved Hamilton from first down to third, and it has been decided that their defence case will be best served by the world championship leader making a personal appearance rather than just submitting a sworn statement.

If McLaren's appeal is accepted and won, Hamilton could move seven points clear of Ferrari rival Felipe Massa, who inherited the win at Spa.

Hamilton has been joined in Paris by McLaren F1 CEO Martin Whitmarsh, his race engineer Phil Prew, the team's director of legal affairs Tim Murnane and legal representatives Baker McKenzie.

Whitmarsh said the clear aim was for McLaren and Hamilton to prove to the judges that they did not gain an advantage in the situation, so therefore did not deserve to be punished.

Speaking before the hearing about the possibility of the judges overthrowing the verdict, Whitmarsh said: "We very much hope that will be the case, but clearly it's outside of our power. All we can do is present the facts.

"But I personally believe anyone who looks back at the race and is asked 'who deserved to win?', most people watching would say Lewis and not Felipe, who was half a minute behind.

"I'm probably slightly partisan on this, but I do actually believe that's what most people would imagine. We just have to present the data, and whatever the outcome is, that is the outcome.

"We are not counting on those points. We hold the lead at the moment in the drivers' championship by one slender point and we can expand upon that in the coming races."

The first hurdle that McLaren will have to overcome in the hearing, however, is proving that the appeal is actually admissible.

There has been some debate about whether or not teams can actually appeal drive-through penalties - which was the original punishment Hamilton was handed down. It was turned into a 25-second penalty because it was served in the final five laps of the race.

Despite the hearing in Paris today, McLaren and Hamilton will have to wait until tomorrow to find out the judges' decision.

Autosport.com will keep you up-to-date with the latest news from the Paris hearing.

McLaren plan to appeal Hamilton’s penalty