Hamilton loses Belgian GP penalty appeal

(CNN) -- Lewis Hamilton failed to overturn his penalty from the Belgian Grand Prix on Tuesday, leaving the McLaren driver with a one-point lead over Ferrari rival Felipe Massa in the Formula One standings with four races remaining.

Hamilton finished first at Spa earlier this month but was docked 25 seconds and dropped to third place for cutting a chicane. The victory was awarded to Massa.

Hamilton's lead is down to one point after last weekend's Italian GP.

Hamilton argued his case on Monday before a three-judge panel on the International Court of Appeal, hoping to increase his lead to seven points, but FIA maintained that the stewards made the correct decision at the time.

"Article 152 of the International Sporting Code states that drive-through penalties are 'not susceptible to appeal,"' FIA said in a statement.

Hamilton was flying to Singapore ahead of Tuesday's decision for F1's first-ever night race on Sunday.

On Monday, Hamilton and his McLaren bosses attended a daylong hearing in Paris, with representatives from McLaren and Ferrari arguing their case.

At the race in Spa, Hamilton was dueling with Ferrari's Kimi Raikonnen in the closing stages of the Belgian GP and cut across the Bus Stop chicane to overtake the Finnish driver.

Hamilton immediately allowed Raikonnen to reclaim the lead before overtaking him at the next corner for the eventual win. The three appointed judges had to decide if Hamilton sufficiently surrendered the advantage he had gained when cutting the chicane.

After the penalty, the win was awarded to Massa, while Hamilton was bumped down to third.

"People will probably expect me to be depressed about today's result, but that isn't me," the 23-year-old Hamilton said in a statement. "All I want to do now is put this matter behind me and get on with what we drivers do best: racing each other.

"We're racers, we're naturally competitive, and we love to overtake," Hamilton added. "Overtaking is difficult, and it feels great when you manage to pull off a great passing maneuver. If it pleases the spectators and TV viewers, it's better still. So I'm disappointed, yes, but not depressed."