McLaren have confirmed they have lodged notice to appeal the 25-second drive-through penalty imposed on Lewis Hamilton in Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix.

Hamilton was demoted from first to third at Spa-Francorchamps following his overtaking move on Kimi Raikkonen at the end of lap 42.

Having cut a chicane to pass the Ferrari driver, Hamilton, the current leader in the Formula One Drivers' Championship, then allowed Raikkonen back past him on the start-finish straight.

However, he then darted back inside Raikkonen at the next corner, with the pair's duel on an increasingly slippery track being settled in Hamilton's favour when his rival slid off and hit a wall.

The decision meant that Ferrari's Felipe Massa was declared winner of the race, with Hamilton's Championship lead over the Brazilian cut to just two points as a result.

The matter will now go before the FIA's International Court of Appeal, who will initially determine whether McLaren's protest is legal.

The appeal might be ruled inadmissible as Article 152 of the FIA's International Sporting Code states a drive-through penalty is "not susceptible to appeal".

However, 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.

The decision of the stewards - Nicholas Deschaux, Surinder Thatti and Yves Bacquelaine - has caused uproar, with three-time champions Niki Lauda and Sir Jackie Stewart among those offering criticism.

It has also compounded the long-held theory that world motorsport's governing body are pro-Ferrari and anti-McLaren.

That has since been strenuously denied by one of the stewards, Thatti, who said: "There was no conspiracy against anybody, McLaren included.

"We acted professionally and within the FIA rules."

McLaren F1 CEO Martin Whitmarsh said on Tuesday: "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.

Explaining his view of the incident, 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."

Describing the incident, Hamilton said: "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.

"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, and 6.7kph quicker than 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."

McLaren have used timing sheets to support their argument, which showed that, having been let back into the lead, Raikkonen crossed the start-finish line 0.6 seconds ahead of Hamilton.

Further data showed Hamilton to also be six kilometres per hour slower at that point.

A date for the appeal hearing is yet to be announced.