F1: Raikkonen has his chips as others waffle in the Belgian rain.

Hamilton gave the Belgian GP at Spa-Franchorchamps to Raikkonen three times but even so, it was the Briton who stood on the top step with Massa second as the Finn ended his race in last place. Then the Stewards conspired against McLaren in favour of Ferrari again.

To be fair to Raikkonen, the only reason he was last was because he had done enough of the race to be classified as in 18th place despite being parked, car in bits, alongside a wall for the last lap and a half of a race that was like an old-fashioned GP - although the FIA have listed him as a DNF.

It is at Spa, the mix of purpose built track and public roads that has inclines that qualify as hills rather than slopes that the lack of driver aids has been most displayed. Spa is unique: not just its mix of track and road and its hills but also its length: it's the last of the long tracks at over 7km. It's wide and except for the artificial chicane right before the main straight, it's mainly long straights and sweeping curves. Some say that the fastest drivers hit the brakes no more than seven times in a whole lap - and it fosters speeds of over 300kph.

The huge variations in height and vegetation and the proximity of the mountains mean that the track has a microclimate - but its length means that often it has different microclimates at different points around the circuit.

The race started with the start-finish straight and the first corner damp after rain. The rest of the track was totally dry. Hamilton screamed away for the first lap, then at the end of the first corner on the second lap spun, losing a lead that was already a second over Raikkonen who had gained second place after a pugilistic attack on his team mate. After the spin, Hamilton was still in the lead, but he had lost all momentum and as Raikkonen, with full thrust after passing Massa, stormed up Eau Rouge, passed Hamilton who, recognising that he was bogged down, allowed the Finn past with no resistance.

Hamilton lost more ground in the next half-lap but began a fight back that all-but came to nothing after coming out into the fast-moving second group after his first pit stop. Alonso, Heidfeld and Kubica plus team mate Kovalainen who spent all race battling after a dismal start all lined up in front of Hamilton to frustrate his attack on the two Ferraris who both came out of their first stops in the clear.

As the other drivers pitted, Hamilton picked up places and once more found himself chasing Raikkonen. After the second pit stop, the pair see-sawed back and forth for quickest laps with Hamilton just picking up a little time on average. Then, miraculously, he suddenly appeared right on the Finn's tail, and except for an incident where Nakajima was lapped by Raikkonen and then sat between the Finn and Hamilton, was how it stayed.

Until two laps before the end. Alonso was the only driver who was prepared - and had he come in one lap earlier may well have found himself on the podium when the rain came. He dived in with one lap to go, and in that lap picked up two places. Heidfeld drove an impossible last few corners passing cars when others had no traction to come third.

But all eyes were on the Hamilton / Raikkonen battle. The two were skating around the track, first one spinning, then the other. Hamilton was in front when the track became treacherous after a stunning move on Raikkonen at the start of the penultimate lap: going into the chicane, Hamilton went around Raikkonen who turned in for the second part of the chicane, leaving Hamilton no choice but to cut the chicane in order to avoid an inevitable collision. Hamilton came back on track ahead of Raikkonen and, in order to avoid a penalty for gaining an advantage, dropped in behind Raikkonen. The Finn weaved (not permitted under the rules) but then after the second movement held his line - Hamilton burst from the Ferrari slipstream and overtook him. The Ferrari tucked in behind and tried to overtake at the first corner but didn't have quite enough.

Then it rained. A slower car appeared in the middle of a corner and Hamilton got a wiggle on to avoid it, and Raikkonen did the same. Both cars spun, and Hamilton came back on track ahead. Hamilton went off, and lost the place but came back on. Raikkonen slithered and Hamilton slipped back through. Raikkonen touched the white line on one side of the track and hit the wall on the other side, demolishing his front end.

Massa, by this time, had concluded that he had enough time in hand ahead of the chasing pack to back off: he had had a grandstand view of the antics of the leading pair and decided that racing for ten points meant near-certain failure to score and easing the car around for eight points was the sensible thing to do. So he dropped back - by the end of the race totally out of sight as Hamilton brought his car around the final chicane at little more than walking pace.

And so it was over: the most strange - and possibly the slowest - end to a motor race ever.

Or so we thought. During the podium finishers' press conference, it was announced that there was to be a stewards' inquiry into the Raikkonen / Hamilton situation. That, McLaren fans knew only one thing: a decision was going to be made to favour Ferrari. Such decisions, it seems, almost always do. That Hamilton had been forced off the track, and despite that had complied with the rules requiring him to surrender a place if he gained it by taking a short-cut would, it was already recognised, would cut no ice.

But the general opinion was that a) Hamilton would be penalised b) the result would stand c) Hamilton would be ordered to drop back five or maybe even ten places at Monza next weekend so as to assure a Ferrari win - to prevent any chance of a repetition of the McLaren one-two at Ferrari's home GP last year.

At 17:55, long after the race, the stewards delivered their decision: Hamilton would be penalised a time penalty. The stewards have not said how they calculated the 25 second penalty: but it's interesting (if not downright suspicious) that it is just enough to see Hamilton dropped to third behind Massa who had surrendered all hope of winning and Heidfeld who drove a stonking last lap in awful conditions.

So the revised result brings Massa to just two points behind Hamilton in the drivers' championship and of course allows Raikkonen to be closer despite crashing out. It extends Ferrari's constructors' championship lead as the teams head to Ferrari's home race.

McLaren are appealing - and rightly so. Their data shows that Hamilton was six kph slower than Raikkonen after the incident, but used the tow so as to outbrake him into turn one.

But data's irrelevant when it comes to helping Ferrari, it seems, and once again the sport is drawn into controversy over a dubious decision.