Surprise, surprise...

When Lewis Hamilton took the chequered flag at Spa on Sunday after one of the most thrilling Grands Prix in living memory, the McLaren driver looked to have moved significantly closer to his first world title. A few hours later that had all changed, Hamilton controversially demoted to third for his clash with Kimi Raikkonen, and Felipe Massa handed the win. As the debate over the justness of the decision rages, we take a team-by-team look at an eventful afternoon in the Ardennes forest, one which means Hamilton and Massa now head to Monza a scant two points apart at the top of the driver standings…

Ferrari

Felipe Massa, 1m 48.222s, P1

Kimi Raikkonen, 1m 47.930s, P18, retired lap 43, accident

It was a day of mixed emotions for Ferrari. Raikkonen drove with all his old fire and had the race in the bag until the weather changed, then made a series of mistakes that resulted in him crashing out on the penultimate lap. That handed the win to Hamilton, until the stewards took it away because of their clash in the chicane at the end of lap 42, and left a surprised Massa, who had not been able to keep up with them, the winner.

McLaren

Lewis Hamilton, 1m 48.135s, P3

Heikki Kovalainen, 1m 48.223s, P10, retired lap 44, gearbox

Hamilton led off the line but threw away his chances with a spin at a slippery La Source on the second lap. Thereafter he chased vainly after Raikkonen until the change in weather gave him the chance he needed to close in. He and the Finn had a fabulous dice and he won on the road until the stewards docked him 25 seconds after the finish, dropping him to third. Kovalainen had an adventurous afternoon, colliding with Heidfeld at La Source at the start, colliding with Webber on lap 10, fighting his way back up through the field and then having to serve a drive-through penalty for that latter transgression. He finished 10th, but stopped on the last lap with a transmission problem.

BMW Sauber

Nick Heidfeld, 1m 49.067s, P2

Robert Kubica, 1m 48.965s, P6

Second place was way more than Heidfeld ever dared expect going into the closing stages of the race, for he was only seventh going into the final four laps. His decision to switch to wet tyres at the end of lap 42 paid off handsomely as he sped round the outside of the likes of team mate Kubica and Sebastian Vettel at Rivage, then blasted by Sebastien Bourdais before Pouhon, as his dry-shod rivals tried to tiptoe to the finish. Kubica was much less happy, complaining about the balance of his F1.08. A lengthy second pit stop also lost him places on his way to sixth, on a day when Toro Rosso ran ahead of the white and blue cars.